People
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Francesco Sorrentino Francesco Sorrentino is full professor of Automatic Controls in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Mexico. He received a master's degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) in 2003 and a Ph.D. in Control Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) in 2007. His expertise is in dynamical systems and controls, with particular emphasis on nonlinear dynamics and optimal control. His work includes studies on dynamics and control of complex dynamical networks, adaptation in complex systems, sensor adaptive networks, and the dynamics of reservoir computers in machine learning. He is interested in applying the theory of dynamical systems to model, analyze, and control the dynamics of complex distributed energy systems, such as power networks and smart grids. Subjects of current investigation are evolutionary game theory on networks (evolutionary graph theory), the dynamics of large networks of coupled neurons, and the use of optimal control to design drug dosage schedules for biomedical applications. He has published more than 100 papers in international scientific peer reviewed journals and serves as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems. Professor Sorrentino's research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Professor Sorrentino is affiliated with the Autophagy, Inflammation and Metabolism (AIM) Center of Biomedical Research Excellence at UNM. He is currently spending part of his sabbatical at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. |
| Postdocs | |
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Andrew Flynn Andrew Flynn received his B.Sc. in Physics and Applied Mathematics in 2017 and his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in 2023, both from University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. He completed his doctoral research on the "Theory and Applications of Multifunctional Reservoir Computers" under the supervision of Dr. Andreas Amann (UCC) and Dr. Vassilios Tsachouridis (Collins Aerospace), funded by an Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scholarship. From 2023 to 2026, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in Prof. Sebastian Wieczorek’s group at UCC, working in collaboration with the INFANT Research Centre on the Research Ireland project "Nonlinear Dynamics and Critical Transitions in the Neonatal Brain". He also worked as an Assistant Lecturer in the School of Mathematical Sciences at UCC from 2019 to 2026. In 2026, he joined Prof. Francesco Sorrentino’s group as a Postdoctoral Fellow, working in collaboration with Yale University and the University of Maryland on developing highly personalised digital twins of the brain. His research interests include nonlinear dynamics, machine learning, critical transitions, control, computational neuroscience, and reservoir computing. More details about his publications and research can be found on his Google Scholar profile. |
| Ph.D. Students | |
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Milad Hadipour Milad is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Mexico, where he also received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include nonlinear dynamics and control, complex dynamical networks, optimization algorithms, and biomedical systems. More details about his publications and research can be found on his Google Scholar profile. |
| Master Students | |
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Nelson Amaya Nelson completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Mexico in the Fall of 2015 where he was a member of the LOBOMotorsports FSAE Team. He is currently a Master's student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNM where his research work focuses on the effects of molecularly targeted drugs to control autophagy in cancer cells for the design of therapies based on mathematical models. |
| Undergraduate Students | |
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Jonathan Martinez
Jonathan Martinez is an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at the University of New Mexico and member of the Formula SAE program's Lobo Motorsports (LMS) 2027 race car team. He serves many leadership roles, including serving as the Vehicle Dynamics System Lead for LMS27 and as President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) UNM chapter. Jonathan's hobbies include swimming, water polo, and weight training. He is an ambitious and involved student with research interests in control systems and nonlinear theory. |
| Previous Members of the Lab | |