PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science will host the National Academy of Engineering regional meeting and symposium “Engineered Networks” on April 26.  The event will be held in the Wu and Chen Auditorium of Levine Hall located at 3330 Walnut St. on Penn’s campus. 

During the past few years, there has been a surge of research interest in science and engineering of complex, networked dynamic systems. Advances in net-centric technology and autonomous systems promise unprecedented levels of performance, robustness and efficiency.

This symposium will focus on two areas in which network science and networked systems have lead to spectacular advances, the study of collective behavior in networked multi-robot systems and analysis on aggregation and strategic interaction in social and economic networks.

The first session of the symposium, “Robotic Networks” will explore recent advances and the future of collective robotics.  Kostas Daniilidis, director of Penn’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory and professor of computer and information science will introduce the session.  Panelists are:

• Vijay Kumar, UPS Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at Penn, on "Networks of Aerial Robots." 
• Daniel E. Koditschek, Alfred Fitler Moore Professor and chair of Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn, on "Interior Networks of Control and Coordination."    
• Naomi Leonard, Edwin S. Wilsey Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, on "Collective Motion and Ocean Sampling Networks."

The second session, "Social and Economic Networks," will examine the opportunities and challenges presented by strategic interaction in social and economic networks.  George Pappas, deputy dean for research and Joseph Moore Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn, will introduce the session. Panelists are:

• Ali Jadbabaie, Skirkanich Associate Professor of Innovation in Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn, on "Aggregation in Complex Networks.”  
• Amin Saberi, Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, on "Internet Monetization."  

The full agenda, online registration and additional information about the NAE Regional Meeting and Symposium is available at

www.seas.upenn.edu/about-seas/rsvp/nae/index.php or by contacting Sonja Atkinson at satkinso@nae.edu or 202-334-3677. The registration deadline is April 22.