Plenary Speakers

Schrödinger Bridges and Monge Cycles: From thermodynamics to ensemble control and back

Abstract: In this plenary talk I will connect the dots and provide an integrated perspective of some knitted topics at the confluence of thermodynamics, stochastic control, and optimization. In particular, I will traverse bridges and cycles in the space of probability distributions, explain their significance in the context of collective steering, uncertainty control, regulation of flow fields, reaction-diffusion dynamics, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics.

Biography: Tryphon T. Georgiou is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. While at the University of Minnesota, he held the Vincentine Hermes-Luh Chair (2002-2016) and served as a co-director of the Center for Control Science and Dynamical Systems at the University of Minnesota (1990-2016). Professor Georgiou is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

Biography: 
Full Professor
July 2024 –Present University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Associate Professor (Tenured)
May 2014 – June 2024 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Stephen J. Angello Term Chair Assistant Professor
March 2008 – May 2014 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering March 2008
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering August 2002
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering May 2000
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Biography: 

Biography: Giorgio Rizzoni, the Ford Motor Company Chair in Electromechanical Systems, is a Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) at The Ohio State University. He has served in his current role as Director of Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research since 1999.
Rizzoni has advised more than 46 PhD and 112 MS students in his career and was recognized by the MAE Department with the Distinguished Graduate Faculty award in April of 2016. He is also the recipient of three Excellent in Undergraduate Teaching awards in the MAE department, in addition to the College of Engineering Stanley and Peter & Clara Scott Awards for Excellence in Engineering Education. He has led inter alia three Department of Education (DOE) Graduate Automotive Technology Education Centers of Excellence, the participation of Ohio State in two DOE US-China Clean Energy Research Centers, and multiple Ohio Third Frontier programs. He is currently leading the ARPA-E NEXTCAR program, with the aim of advancing energy efficiency in connected and automated vehicles, and OSU’s Advanced Air Mobility efforts.
Professor Rizzoni is a Fellow of IEEE (2004), SAE (2005) and ASME (2022). He received his BS, MS and PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan.