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Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
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Peter Seiler
Assistant Professor

Peter Seiler

Contact information
Office: 224 Akerman Hall
Phone: 612-626-5289
E-mail: seile017 (at) aem.umn.edu

List of research topics
See a research Q&A
Current research projects

Professor Seiler’s research is in the area of control systems with applications to aerospace systems. Modern flight control systems are typically designed using a model of the aircraft dynamics. One aspect of Professor Seiler’s research is to develop tools to analyze the effect of model uncertainty and nonlinearities on system performance. Professor Seiler is currently applying modern control design and analysis tools to make wind energy more cost-effective. Advanced control algorithms can increase the power capture and reduced structural loads on large, industrial scale wind turbines. Another aspect of  Professor Seiler’s research is to develop algorithms to increase the reliability of safety critical systems. Professor Seiler previously worked on the flight control electronics for the Boeing 787 aircraft. Commercial aircraft achieve remarkable levels of safety and reliability mainly through the use of redundant components. He hopes to develop algorithms to achieve high levels of reliability in other domains, e.g. unmanned aerial vehicles, automotive vehicles, and medical devices, without using redundant components.

Degrees

B.S., Mathematics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2001

Experience

2011 - current: Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics, University of Minnesota
2008 - 2011: Senior Research Associate, Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics, University of Minnesota
2004 - 2008: Principal Scientist R&D, Honeywell
2002 - 2004: Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2002:  Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
1997 - 2001: Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Five Recent Publications

  • Chakraborty, A., P. Seiler and G. Balas, 2011, Susceptibility of F/A-18 Flight Controllers to the Falling-Leaf Mode: Linear Analysis, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, vol. 34, no. 1, 57-72, (Journal Article) More Details, Request PDF
  • Chakraborty, A., P. Seiler and G. Balas, 2011, Susceptibility of F/A-18 Flight Controllers to the Falling-Leaf Mode: Nonlinear Analysis, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, vol. 34, no. 1, 73-85, (Journal Article) More Details, Request PDF
  • Topcu, U., A. Packard, P. Seiler, and G. Balas, 2010, Robust Region-of-Attraction Estimation, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, vol. 55, no.1, 137-142, (Journal Article) More Details, Request PDF
  • Topcu, U., A. Packard, P. Seiler, and G. Balas, 2010, Ask the experts: Help on SOS, IEEE Control Systems Magazine, vol. 30, no.4, 18-23, (Journal Article) More Details, Request PDF
  • P. Seiler, A. Packard, and G.J. Balas, 2010, A gain-based lower bound algorithm for real and mixed mu problems, Automatica, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 493–500, (Journal Article) More Details, Request PDF

See more publications

Honors and Fellowships

O. Hugo Schuck Award for best paper, American Control Conference, 2002
B.T. Chao Award, University of Illinois –Urbana/Champaign, 1996

Scientific and Professional Societies

American Intitute of Aeronautics and Astronautic
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Subjects and Courses Taught

Curriculum Vitae Brief Biographical Sketch

Last Modified: 2012-02-28 at 12:56:06 -- this is in International Standard Date and Time Notation