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Warren Dixon, Ph.D., Newton C. Ebaugh Professor![]() Prof. Warren Dixon received his Ph.D. in 2000 from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from Clemson University. He worked as a research
staff member and Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) until 2004, when he joined the University of Florida in the Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering Department. His main research interest has been the development and application of Lyapunov-based control techniques for
uncertain nonlinear systems. His work has been recognized by the 2019 IEEE Control Systems Technology Award, (2017-2018 & 2012-2013) University of Florida College of Engineering Doctoral Dissertation Mentoring Award,
2015 & 2009 American Automatic Control Council (AACC) O. Hugo Schuck (Best Paper) Award, the 2013 Fred Ellersick
Award for Best Overall MILCOM Paper, the 2011 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dynamics Systems and Control Division Outstanding Young Investigator Award, the 2006 IEEE Robotics and Automation
Society (RAS) Early Academic Career Award, an NSF CAREER Award (2006-2011), the 2004 Department of Energy Outstanding Mentor Award, and the 2001 ORNL
Early Career Award for Engineering Achievement. He is an ASME Fellow (2016) and IEEE Fellow (2016), was an IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) Distinguished Lecturer (2013-2018),
served as the Director of Operations for the Executive Committee of the IEEE CSS Board of Governors (BOG) (2012-2015), and served as an elected member of the IEEE CSS BOG (2019-2020).
His technical contributions and service to the IEEE CSS were recognizd by the IEEE CSS Distinguished Member Award (2020). He was awarded the Air Force
Commander's Public Service Award (2016) for his contributions to the U.S. Air Force Science Advisory Board. He is currently or formerly
an associate editor for ASME Journal of Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control,
Automatica, IEEE Control Systems, IEEE Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics: Part B Cybernetics, and the International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Visiting Faculty and Research Scientists | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dan Guralnik![]() Dan Guralnik received his Ph.D. from the Technion-IIT Mathematics department in 2005, specializing
in Geometric Group Theory. After post-doctoral appointments at Vanderbilt University and University
of Oklahoma, where he worked on asymptotic geometry and boundary dynamics of discrete groups, he moved
in 2011 to a post-doctoral appointment at KodLab, the legged locomotion laboratory at the University
of Pennsylvania, to start work on applications of topology and category theory to problems of knowledge
representation in the context of navigation and control. In fall 2019 he has joined NCR as a research scientist to work on
developing formal and category-theoretical methods in hybrid control, as part of the AFOSR Center of
Excellence in Assured Autonomy in Contested Environments.
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Ph.D. Students | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Federico Zegers![]() Federico Zegers attended the University of Florida
where he earned two B.S. degrees in the spring of 2016: one in mechanical engineering and another in mathematics. He is currently pursuing a PhD in
mechanical engineering under the guidance of Dr. Warren Dixon. Federico's research interests lie in nonlinear control theory, network control systems
theory, switch systems theory, and graph theory. Expected graduation is August 2021.
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Brendon Allen![]() Brendon Allen received his Bachelor of Science degree
in Mechanical Engineering in December 2015 from the University of Florida and his Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering
in 2018 from Brigham Young University, Provo. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on
nonlinear controls under the supervision of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is August 2021.
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Runhan Sun![]() Runhan Sun received his Bachelor of Science degree in
Mechanical Engineering in 2015 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2018 from the
University of Florida. His research interests include nonlinear controls, switch systems controls, and vision-based
control systems. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2022.
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Max Greene![]() Max Greene earned his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Florida in 2018. As an undergraduate, Max interned for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration in the Satellite Servicing Projects Division. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a
focus on nonlinear controls under the supervision of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2022.
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Duc (Daniel) Le![]() Daniel Le attended the University of Florida where he received
a dual bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the fall of 2018. As an undergraduate, Daniel interned for the Naval Surface Warfare Center in the
Unmanned Systems division. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on nonlinear controls under the supervision of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2023.
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Kimberly Stubbs![]() Kimberly Stubbs earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical
Engineering in May 2019 from the University of Florida. While completing her undergraduate degree, Kim was an active member of Tau Beta Pi, participated in the Integrated
Product and Process Design program, and volunteered as a mentor with the FIRST Robotics team at PK Yonge High School. She is currently pursuing a PhD under the supervision
of Dr. Warren Dixon. Kimberly’s research interests are primarily focused on human-robot interaction and rehabilitative robotics. Expected graduation is May 2023.
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Axton Isaly![]() Axton Isaly will graduate from the University of Florida in 2019 with a
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. As an undergraduate, he conducted research related to developing autonomous control systems for
unmanned aerial systems. As a graduate, he will continue researching autonomy while focusing on nonlinear controls. He is planning to pursue a PhD in Mechanical Engineering
under the supervision of Dr. Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2023.
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Omkar Patil![]() Omkar Patil graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in Production
and Industrial Engineering. After graduation, he worked as a project associate at the Control & Automation Lab, IIT Delhi, on a sponsored project entitled 'Aerial Manipulation - Modeling,
Planning and Control'. He is pursuing a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Dixon with broad research interests in nonlinear control, adaptive control and switched systems theory. Expected graduation is May 2023.
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Sage Edwards![]() Sage Edwards graduated from Youngstown State University (YSU) in the spring of 2019 with a Bachelor of Engineering in
Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Physics. As an undergraduate, Sage interned at LG Fuel Cell Systems and worked in Dr. Tom Oder’s Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Lab at YSU.
Sage is currently pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering, with a focus on nonlinear controls under the supervision of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2023.
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Emily Griffis![]() Emily Griffis recieved her Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Florida in May 2020. While completing her undergraduate degree, she interned at Exactech and was an active member of the UF chapter of
ASME, leading one of their design teams. Her research focuses primarily on human-robot interactions and rehabilitative robotics. She is currently pursuing
a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering under the supervision of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2024.
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Ciku Makumi![]() Ciku Makumi received her Bachelors of
Science degree in May 2020 from the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State University and UNC Chapel Hill. Her research interests
are focused on human-robot interaction and rehabilitative robotics. She is currently pursing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering under the supervision
of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2024.
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Hannah Sweatland![]() Hannah Sweatland received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Florida in May of 2020. As an undergraduate, she conducted research on lower body robotic exoskeletons and interned at
Northrop Grumman Corporation. Hannah is currently pursuing a Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on human-robot interaction and rehabilitative
robotics under the supervision of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2024.
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Patrick Amy![]() Patrick Amy received his Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2017.
He continued his education at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) where he earned a Master of Science in Engineering in Robotics in 2019. While completing his master’s degree, he worked in the Dynamical Systems
and Control Laboratory at JHU and the Naval Research Laboratory, in D.C. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering under the guidance of Dr. Warren Dixon. Expected graduation is May 2025.
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M.S. Students | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alumni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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