Distributed and Networked Systems: An Overview, and New Directions

Demetri Spanos Post-Doctoral ScholarCalifornia Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA This talk will address some of the main themes in distributed and networked systems engineering, as well as some specific research results focused on a modeling and design framework for certain distributed systems. We will begin with a (very) short history, and discuss why this field has experienced a revival in academia, industry, and government spending over the last decade. We will also present some less traditional views on future applications of distributed systems engineering, especially in the design of aerospace, mechanical, structural, and other "physically embedded" systems. The latter part of the presentation will address a collection of recent research results, a modeling and design framework based on the concept of a "distributed gradient". As an application, we will discuss a widely studied architecture for control based on spatially averaged quantities, and show this to be a special case of the distributed gradient framework. If time permits, we will also discuss a wide variety of novel systems following from the principles of a distributed gradient system

Location: Seaver Science Library )SSL) Rm 150

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: April Mundy