Dr. Pan Zhao
Assistant Professor
Contact
- 1103D Bevill
- phone (205) 348-2807
- Faculty Website
Research Areas
Education
B.E., Automation, Beihang University, 2009
M.E., Mechanical Engineering, Beihang University, 2012
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2018
Dr. Pan Zhao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining UA, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on developing control and decision-making algorithms for autonomous systems to ensure safe and efficient operation in dynamic and uncertain environments, with validation on real-world platforms. He is also interested in the development of aerial robotic systems for applications in emergency response, construction, and agriculture. Dr. Zhao serves as an Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Dynamics, Measurement, and Control. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2026).
Affiliated Areas
Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, Alabama Center for the Advancement of AI, Remote Sensing Center
Selected Publications
- P. Zhao, R. Ghabcheloo, Y. Cheng, H. Abdi, and N. Hovakimyan. “Convex synthesis of control barrier functions under input constraints.” IEEE Control Systems Letters (L-CSS), vol. 7, pp. 3102-3107, 2023.
- S. Snyder, P. Zhao, and N. Hovakimyan. “L1 adaptive control with switched reference models: Application to Learn-to-Fly.” Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 45(12): 2229-2242, 2022.
- Y. Cheng*, P. Zhao*, F. Wang, D. J. Block, and N. Hovakimyan. “Improving the robustness of reinforcement learning policies with L1 adaptive control.” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7(3): 6574-6581, 2022. (* equal contributions)
- P. Zhao, A. Lakshmanan, K. Ackerman, A. Gahlawat, M. Pavone, and N. Hovakimyan. “Tube-certified trajectory tracking for nonlinear systems with robust control contraction metrics.” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7(2): 5528-5535, 2022.
- P. Zhao and R. Nagamune. “Switching LPV controller design under uncertain scheduling parameters.” Automatica, vol.76, pp. 243-250, 2017
Awards and Honors
- NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2026
- Excellent Reviewer for the Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 2022
- Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, 2015