Eric Westervelt
Control Theory Specialist

Education :

• Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2003
• B.S., Computer and Systems Engineering, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, 1997

My area of research is control theory. Control theory is the study of algorithms, or special math equations, used to change how a mechanical system performs. As an example, consider cruise control in a family car. A car with cruise control can automatically adjust its speed depending on the speed the driver sets. This is true in spite of a number of variables such as the changing slope of a road, wind speed, etc. A primary area of interest of mine is robotics, particularly walking machines. I also have projects in modeling how humans walk, air conditioning/heating system control, and control in hybrid cars, cars that run on both gas and electricity. With walking robots, I am working hard to understand how to write algorithms (equations) that enable a two-legged robot to walk efficiently, stably, and robustly. I am looking at how humans walk to better understand how they walk so well! That way, I hope to design better leg prostheses for people who have lost a leg. In my air conditioning/heating system work, I am trying to improve the efficiency of a local factory’s system. With the hybrid cars, my goal is to make the ride smooth for the driver and to make the vehicle efficient.

I dig teaching, whether it is in the classroom or in the lab. I also enjoy learning and creating. To do all of these things with freedom, the place to be is academia (at a college or university). The best parts of my job are teaching, getting to know students, working on cool projects and continuing to learn. The worst part of my job is the long hours. Seeing a student have an ‘ah-ha’ moment, and discovering something new in research are both very exciting things for me. However, the MOST exciting thing for me recently has been making a biped (two legged) robot walk and run, well almost run (we’re almost there!).