Professor Francesco Bullo - Research Group

Current PhD Students

• Gilberto Diaz-Garcia (Ph.D. student, ECE, UCSB, gdiaz-garcia at ucsb.edu), joint supervision with Prof Jason Marden

• Anand Gokhale (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, anand_gokhale at ucsb.edu)

• Yohan John (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, yohanjohn at ucsb.edu), joint supervision with Prof Jason Marden

• Abed K. Musaffar (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, abed at ucsb.edu)

• Kittiphat Boonyawat (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, k_boonyawat at ucsb.edu)

• Ruben Blasco-Aguado (Ph.D. student, SSM, Napoli, Italy), joint supervision with Prof Giovanni Russo

• Arie Ogranovich (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, arieogranovich at ucsb.edu)

• Arvind R. Venkatakrishnan (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, arvindragghav at ucsb.edu)

• Christopher Koh (Ph.D. student, ME UCSB, ckoh at ucsb.edu)

Former PhD Students (and initial job placement)

• Simone Betteti (Ph.D., Universita’ di Padova, Italy, Feb 2026), Associative Memory and Recurrent Neural Networks: A Dynamical Systems Approach (pdf), Postdoc, Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence for Industry (AI4I), Turin, Italy

• Alexander Davydov (Ph.D., ME UCSB, June 2025), Contraction Theory in Control, Learning, and Optimization (pdf), Assistant Professor, Rice University

• Veronica Centorrino (Ph.D., Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Napoli, Jan 2025), Contracting Dynamics for Biologically Plausible Neural Networks and Optimization (pdf), Postdoc, ETH Zurich

• Sean Jaffe (Ph.D. CS UCSB, Sep 2024) Dynamical Systems and Neural Networks: From Implicit Models to Memory Retrieval (pdf), Software Engineer, Celonis, New York City

• Francesco Seccamonte (Ph.D., ME UCSB, Sep 2023) Bilevel Optimization in Learning and Control with Applications to Network Flow Estimation (pdf), Staff Engineer for Autonomy Algorithms, Ford, Palo Alto

• Kevin D. Smith (Ph.D., ECE UCSB, Mar 2023) Control and Estimation in Network Systems (pdf), Senior Algorithms Engineer, Utilidata, Providence, RI

• Pedro Cisneros-Velarde (Ph.D., ECE UCSB, Jun 2021) Network Systems: Social networks, Epidemics, Optimization and Contraction Theory (pdf), Machine Learning Scientist, VMware

• Elizabeth Y. Huang (Ph.D., ME UCSB, Dec 2020) Networks of Coupled Oscillators and Social Network Structures of Teams (pdf), GNC Engineer, Skyryse

• Xiaoming Duan (Ph.D., ME UCSB, Dec 2020), Markov Chain-Based Stochastic Strategies for Robotic Surveillance (pdf), Associate Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong

• Shadi Mohagheghi Ph.D., ECE UCSB, March 2020, Network Science of Teams: Dynamics, Algorithms, and Implications (pdf), Technical Account Manager, MathWorks

• Mishel George Ph.D., ME UCSB, June 2018, Collective Cell Behavior and Design of Stochastic Surveillance Strategies (pdf), Software Engineer, Planner and Controls, Waymo

• Wenjun Mei Ph.D. ME UCSB, Mar 2018, Modeling and Analysis of Social Network Dynamics: Propagation, Learning and Structural Balance (pdf), Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Peking University

• Jeffrey R. Peters Ph.D. ME UCSB, Jun 2017, Cooperative robotics and mixed teams (pdf), Technical Account Manager, Yardi Systems Inc

• Pushkarini Agharkar, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Jan 2016, Path Planning Algorithms for Robotic Agents (pdf), Data Software Engineer, Google, Toronto

• John W. Simpson-Porco, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Aug 2015, Distributed Control of Inverter-Based Power Grids (pdf), Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada

• Rush Patel, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Apr 2015, Robotic Surveillance and Deployment Strategies (pdf), Senior Director, GNC and Software at Skyryse

• Florian Dorfler, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Sep 2013, Dynamics and Control in Power Grids and Complex Oscillator Networks (pdf), Associate Professor, Automatic Control Laboratory, ETH Zurich

• Anahita Mirtabatabaei, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Jun 2013, Opinion Dynamics with Heterogeneous Interactions and Information Assimilation (pdf), Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Glassdoor

• Vaibhav Srivastava, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Dec 2012, Stochastic Search and Surveillance Strategies for Mixed Human-Robot Teams (pdf), Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University

• Fabio Pasqualetti, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Sep 2012, Secure Control Systems: A Control-Theoretic Approach to Cyber-Physical Security (pdf), Professor, Mechanical Engineering, UC Riverside

• Joey W. Durham, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Jun 2011, Distributed Coordination for Teams of Robots (pdf), Sr. Manager of Research and Advanced Development, Amazon Robotics

• Sandra H. Dandach, Ph.D., ME UCSB, Jun 2011, Topics in Sequential Decision Making: Analysis and Applications (pdf), Advanced Technologies Research Lead, Meta

• Karl J. Obermeyer, Ph.D., ME, UCSB, Jun 2010, Visibility Problems for Sensor Networks and Unmanned Air Vehicles (pdf), Tracking Research Lead, Standard Cognition

• Shaunak D. Bopardikar, Ph.D., ME, UCSB, Mar 2010, Pursuit Strategies for Autonomous Vehicles (pdf), Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University

• Stephen L. Smith, Ph.D., ME, UC Santa Barbara, Aug 2009, Task Allocation and Vehicle Routing in Dynamic Environments (pdf), Professor and Canada Research Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo

• Sara Susca, Ph.D., ECE, UC Santa Barbara, Dec 2007, Distributed Boundary Estimation and Monitoring (pdf), Systems Engineer, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

• Nikolaj Nordkvist, Ph.D., Math, Technical University of Denmark, Jan 2008, Motion Control along Relative Equilibria (pdf), Senior Staff Research Engineer, Gatik, Mountain View, CA

• Ketan Savla, Ph.D., ECE, UCSB, Dec 2007, Multi UAV Systems with Motion and Communication Constraints (pdf), Associate Professor & John and Dorothy Shea Early Career Chair in Civil Engineering, University of Southern California

• Anurag Ganguli, Ph.D., ECE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Apr 2007, Motion Coordination for Mobile Robotic Networks with Visibility Sensors (pdf), Head of Perception, PlusAI

• Giuseppe Notarstefano, Ph.D., Information Eng., Universita’ di Padova, Mar 2007, Optimization Strategies for Constrained Control Systems and Robotic Networks (pdf), Professor, Universita’ di Bologna, Italy

• W. Todd Cerven, Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003, Efficient Hierarchical Global Motion Planning for Autonomous Vehicles (pdf), Senior Engineer, Aerospace Corporation

• Gregory J. Toussaint, Ph.D., ECE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 2000, Robust Control and Motion Planning for Nonlinear Underactuated Systems (pdf), (Assistant Professor, USAF Academy)

Former Postdocs and Research Associates

• Sonia Martínez, Professor, UC San Diego, USA

• Jorge Cortés, Professor, UC San Diego, USA

• Kurt Plarre, Analyst, ALMA Observatory, Chile

• Ruggero Carli, Associate Professor Universita di Padova, Italy

• Gabor Orosz, Associate Professor, University of Michigan, USA

• Peng Jia, Data Analyst, Discover Financial Services, Arizona

• Dario Paccagnan Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Imperial College London

• Saber Jafarpour Postdoctoral Scientist, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Robin Delabays Assistant Professor, Energy Environment, HES-SO in Sion, Switzerland