Mario Sznaier
Dennis Picard Trustee Professor,
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Contact
- msznaier@ece.northeastern.edu
- 360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Office
- 414 Dana Research Center
- 617.373.5364
Research Focus
Dynamics-enabled machine learning, robust control, control oriented identification, semi-algebraic optimization, dynamic computer vision
About
Mario Sznaier received the Ingeniero Electronico and Ingeniero en Sistemas de Computacion degrees from the Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay and the MSEE and Ph.D degrees from the University of Washington. From 1991 to 1993 he was an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida. In 1993 he joined the Pennsylvania State University, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1997 and to Professor of Electrical Engineering in 2001. In July 2006 he joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Northeastern University, Boston, MA, as the Dennis Picard Trustee Professor. He has also held visiting appointments at the California Institute of Technology in 1990 and 2000 and Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State. His research interest include dynamics-enabled machine learning, robust control, control oriented identification, semi-algebraic optimization, and dynamic computer vision. He serves as Associate Editor for the journal Automatica, Editor in Chief for the Section on AI and Machine Learning Control of the journal Frontiers in Control Engineering, and Chair of IFAC’s Technical Committee on Robust Control. Dr. Sznaier is an IEEE Fellow and received the IEEE Control Systems Society Distinguished Member Award.
Honors & Awards
- IEEE Control Systems Society Distinguished Member Award
- IEEE Fellow
- Faculty Research Team Award, College of Engineering
- Students Speak Teaching Award
Research Overview
Dynamics-enabled machine learning, robust control, control oriented identification, semi-algebraic optimization, dynamic computer vision
Selected Research Projects
- Modeling and Control of Non-Passive Networks with Distributed Time-Delays: Application in Epidemic Control
- – co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Control and Learning Enabled Verifiable Robust AI (CLEVR-AI)
- – Principal Investigator, Department of Defense, MURI award
- Safe Learning-Enabled Cyber-Physical Systems
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- CRISP Type 2: Identification and Control of Uncertain, Highly Interdependent Processes Involving Humans with Applications to Resilient Emergency Health Response
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Data Driven Control of Switched Systems with Applications to Human Behavioral Modification
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Verifiable, Control-Oriented Learning on the Fly
- – Principal Investigator at Northeastern University, Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Sznaier, Mario (2021). Control Oriented Learning in the Era of Big Data. IEEE Control Systems Letters, 5(6),1855-1867. 10.1109/LCSYS.2020.3045664
- Bekiroglu, Korkut, Russell, Michael A., Lagoa, Constantino, Su, Rong, Sznaier, Mario, Lanza, Stephanie T., Odgers, Candice L. (2020). Continuous-time model identification: application on a behavioural (miLife) study. International Journal of Control, ,1-12. 10.1080/00207179.2019.1706101
- T. Dai, M. Sznaier, A Semi-Algebraic Approach to Data Driven Control of Continuous Time Nonlinear Systems, IEEE Control Systems Letters, 5(2), 2020, 487-492
- W. Lucia, G. Franzè, M. Sznaier, A Hybrid Command Governor Scheme for Rotary Wings Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 2(28), 2020, 361-375
- B. Yilmaz, K. Bekiroglu, C. Lagoa, M. Sznaier, A Randomized Algorithm for Parsimonious Model Identification, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 63(2), 2018, 532-539
- Y. Wang, J. Lopez, M. Sznaier, Convex Optimization Approaches to Information Structured Decentralized Control, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 63(10), 2018, 3393-3403
- K. Bekiroglu, M. Ayazoglu, C. Lagoa, M. Sznaier, Hankel Matrix Rank as Indicator of Ghost in Bearing-Only Tracking, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 54(6), 2018, 2713-2723
Apr 21, 2022
Team Led by ECE’s Siami Awarded $1.1M by NSF for Multi-System Modeling Framework
ECE/EAI Assistant Professor Milad Siami is leading a multi-university $1.1M NSF grant, in collaboration with Dennis Picard Trustee Professor Mario Sznaier and S. Farokh Atashzar from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, for “Modeling and Control of Non-Passive Networks with Distributed Time-Delays: Application in Epidemic Control.”
Dec 20, 2021
ECE PhD Student Wins IEEE CDC Outstanding Student Paper Award
Jared Miller, PhD’23, electrical engineering, advised by Professor Mario Sznaier, won CDC Outstanding Student Paper Award at the 2021 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control for his paper “Peak Estimation for Uncertain and Switched Systems.”
Sep 03, 2021
Undergraduate Student’s Research Focuses on Developing Software for Drones to Enforce COVID Guidelines
UPLIFT Scholar Zachary Walker-Liang, E’25, computer engineering and computer science, conducted research as a first-year student to enable a drone to survey an area and see if people are following social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask or not and report the data. After developing the software he implemented it onto the drone.
Jul 02, 2021
Team Led by Sznaier Awarded $7.5M by DoD for Control and Learning Enabled Verifiably Robust AI
Mario Sznaier, Dennis Picard Trustee Professor, electrical and computer engineering (ECE), is leading a multi-university team that was awarded a $7.5 million, five-year grant from the Department of Defense (DoD).
Sep 09, 2020
Creating Safe Learning-Enabled Cyber-Physical Systems
ECE Professors Mario Sznaier and Octavia Camps were awarded an $880K NSF grant for “Safe Learning-Enabled Cyberphysical Systems.”
Nov 26, 2018
Sznaier Selected as IEEE Fellow
ECE Professor Mario Sznaier has been elevated to an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to identification of switched systems and multiobjective control. IEEE Fellow is a distinction reserved for select IEEE members whose extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting of this prestigious grade elevation. The total number selected in any one year […]
Nov 15, 2018
Sznaier co-PI for $7.5M DOD UAV Grant
ECE Professor Mario Sznaier is a co-PI for a $7.5M DOD grant, in collaboration with The University of Texas at Austin and Princeton University, for a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project aimed at developing artificial intelligence for UAVs.
Aug 30, 2018
Creating Personalized Behavior Monitoring Systems
ECE Professors Octavia Camps and Mario Sznaier, in collaboration with Constantino Lagoa and David Conroy from Pennsylvania State University, were awarded a $500K NSF grant for "Data Driven Control of Switched Systems with Applications to Human Behavioral Modification". Abstract Source: NSF Dramatically increasing health care costs threaten the nation's economy. Over 80% of those costs are […]
Jul 31, 2018
Neural Network Modules for Computer Vision Systems
ECE Professors Octavia Camps and Mario Sznaier were awarded a $500K NSF grant for "Dynamic and Statistical Based Invariants on Manifolds for Video Analysis." Abstract Source: NSF Computer vision systems can benefit society in many ways. For example, spatially distributed vision sensors endowed with activity analysis capabilities can prevent crime, help optimize resource use in […]
May 01, 2018
Faculty and Staff Awards 2018
Congratulations to all the winners of the faculty and staff awards, and to everyone for their hard work and dedication during the 2017-2018 academic school year.