About

My name's Mikhail, though most folks call me Misha. I'm a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where I am advised by Dr. Sneha Narra. I study systems and control theory, specifically modeling, planning, and optimal control techniques for metal additive manufacturing.

Before CMU, I completed my undergrad at the University of Maryland, graduating magna cum laude with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science. While there, I worked on surgical robotics with Dr. Axel Krieger (now at JHU) and on distributed control theory for multi-agent systems with Dr. Yancy Diaz-Mercado. I also built a self-driving bike.

Research

My work is focused on the intersection of control theory and metal additive manufacturing, specifically directed energy deposition (DED) techniques such as wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). While these technologies have the promise to revolutionize manufacturing in many sectors, they face significant challenges. At present, process design and optimization for these techniques is carried out in terms of a static parameter grid search, with modeling mostly focused on the steady state condition. However, since many of these processes never actually reach steady state, it is critical to model and exploit the process dynamics and transients.

As such, I am working to develop dynamical models, planning strategies, and realtime state estimation and control systems to assure desired final outcomes in these processes, making use of ideas from optimal control, finite element modeling, networked and multi-agent systems, and hybrid planning.

Other Stuff

When I'm not deep in my research, you can find me building combat robots, self-driving buggies, and other such foolishness. I also enjoy reading on wide variety of subjects, including history, economics, and other scientific disciplines, with the occasional work of fiction sprinkled in (most recently, Herbert's Dune Messiah). Musically, I adore the work of the Soviet rock group DDT, and have spent many a late night translating their lyrics to English.