PhD Completed: Dissertation Defense
Published:
I successfully defended my PhD dissertation, Controller Synthesis through Riemannian Optimization, at the University of Washington.
What problem was this about?
Many control and trajectory optimization methods are built in coordinates that ignore underlying geometric structure, which can lead to redundancy and weaker numerical behavior.
What was the main contribution?
The dissertation develops intrinsic geometric optimization methods for both closed-loop controller synthesis and open-loop trajectory optimization on manifolds.
Why it matters
The resulting methods are both theoretically principled and computationally practical, with direct relevance to learning-based control and autonomous aerospace systems.