Sikandar Samar Stanford University, Information Systems Laboratory, Packard 243, Stanford, CA 94305 (650)-804-4339 sikandar@stanford.edu http://www.stanford.edu/~sikandar ================================================================================== Education: Ph.D., Aeronautics and Astronautics, minor in Electrical Engineering, Sept. 2006 Information Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA Dissertation title: "Statistical Estimation via Convex Optimization for Trending and Performance Monitoring". GPA: 4.00/4.00 M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Aug. 2003 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dissertation title: "Model Reduction Error Bounds for Spatial Array Systems". GPA: 3.75/4.00 B.E., Mechanical Engineering, Oct. 2001 National University of Science and Technology, Pakistan Dissertation title: "Modeling, Simulation and Control of Aircraft Propulsion using Gas Turbine Cycles". GPA: 3.99/4.00 Selected Coursework Convex Optimization & Applications, Machine Learning, Data-Based Modeling & Identification, Estimation & Detection, Linear Dynamical Systems, Analysis of Nonlinear Systems, Economic Analysis, Control Engineering in Industry ================================================================================== Work Experience: Research Assistant, Sep. 2003 -- present Information Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, CA My research here has focused on performance monitoring and fault estimation in large scale systems using numerical optimization. Initially, I worked on developing a moving horizon approach for on-line estimation via embedded filters (see [6]). Currently I am working on model-based trending [3], developing algorithms to get confidence bounds for estimates obtained under modeling uncertainty [4], [11], using distributed optimization methods for state estimation via sensor fusion [9], and applying convex optimization techniques to robust binary classification [2]. Summer Intern, Summer 2005 Information & Decision Technology, Honeywell Labs, Minneapolis, Minnesota I developed algorithms for real time estimation of incipient faults and reconfigurable mission planning for the Aerosonde unmanned aerial vehicle [1]. Summer Intern, Summer 2004 Aerospace Electronic Systems, Honeywell Labs, Minneapolis, Minnesota I developed algorithms for on-line fault estimation in the guidance and control system of a space launch vehicle [5]. Teaching Assistant, Spring 2005 Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, CA Control Engineering in Industry, with Prof. Dimitry Gorinevsky. Research Assistant, Aug. 2001 -- Aug. 2003 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign I studied application of robust control techniques to distributed systems, and developed algorithms for model reduction of complex physical systems to aid in simulation, analysis and control design [7],[8]. ================================================================================== Research Interests: Statistical estimation via convex optimization for engineering and financial applications; optimization-based data mining and machine learning algorithms; applied control design. ================================================================================== Publications: 1: Embedded Estimation of Fault Parameters in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. With D. Gorinevsky and S. Boyd. In Proc. 15th IEEE Conference on Control Applications, Munich, Germany, October 2006. (Best Student Paper Award) 2: Pareto Optimal Linear Classification. With S.-J Kim, A. Magnani and S. Boyd. In Proc. 23rd International Conference on Machine Learning, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 2006. 3: Model Predictive Estimation of Evolving Faults. With D. Gorinevsky. In Proc. 25th American Control Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2006. 4: Likelihood Bounds for Constrained Estimation with Uncertainty. With D. Gorinevsky and S. Boyd. In Proc. 44th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Seville, Spain, December 2005. 5: Integrated Diagnostics of Rocket Flight Control. With D. Gorinevsky, J. Bain, G. Aaseng. In Proc. 26th IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, March 2005. 6: Moving Horizon Filter for Monotonic Trends. With D. Gorinevsky and S. Boyd. In Proc. 43rd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Paradise Island, Bahamas, December 2004. 7: Model Reduction of Spatially Invariant-Array Systems. With C. L. Beck. In Proc. 42nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Maui, Hawaii, December 9-12, 2003. 8: Model Reduction of Heterogeneous Distributed Systems. With C. L. Beck. In Proc. 42nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Maui, Hawaii, December 9-12, 2003. ==================================== Technical reports & work in progress ==================================== 9: Distributed Estimation via Decomposition Methods. Technical Report, Information Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 2006. With S. Boyd. (Also in submission) 10: On-Line Model-Based Performance Monitoring: A Convex Approach. Technical Report, Information Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 2006. With D. Gorinevsky and S. Boyd. (Also in submission) 11: Confidence Intervals for Trends in Noisy Data. Technical Report, Information Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 2006. With D. Gorinevsky and S. Boyd. (Also in submission) ================================================================================== Skills: Computer languages: C, C++, Java, FORTRAN, Visual BASIC, LaTeX Engineering packages: MATLAB, Simulink, ANSYS, Pro/E, AutoCAD ================================================================================== Awards and Honors: Recent paper on real time estimation [1] won the Best Student Paper Award in the IEEE Conference on Control Applications, Munich, Germany (July 2006) President's gold medal for securing 1st position in Bachelor's of Mechanical Engineering in the National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan (Nov 2001) Gold medal in engineering for the best academic performance in mechanical engineering in the College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Rawalpindi (Nov 2001) Merit scholarship of the National University of Sciences and Technology (April 1998 -- Oct 2001) 3rd position in Pakistan in the Higher Secondary School Certificate Examination conducted by the Federal Board of Education (June 1997) ================================================================================== References: Stephen P. Boyd Professor, Information Systems Laboratory Department of Electrical Engineering Stanford University 350 Serra Mall, Packard 264 Stanford, CA 94305-9510 USA boyd@stanford.edu Dimitry Gorinevsky Consulting Professor, Information Systems Laboratory Department of Electrical Engineering Stanford University 350 Serra Mall, Packard 233 Stanford, CA 94305-9510 USA gorin@stanford.edu ==================================================================================