Rate My Professor Fabrizio Padula

Fabrizio Padula is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Curtin University, where he also serves as Deputy Director of the Curtin Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science. He joined Curtin University in 2016 and has progressed through roles including Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow. Prior to this, Padula was a Research Associate in the Department of Information Engineering at the University of Brescia, Italy, from January 2014 to November 2015. His academic background includes an MSc degree in Industrial Automation Engineering obtained in 2009 and a PhD in Computer Science and Automatic Control completed between November 2009 and October 2012, both from the University of Brescia. Padula's research specializations centre on automatic control, with a strong emphasis on fractional-order control systems, PID and FOPID controllers, and their applications in medical and industrial contexts. He focuses on modelling industrial processes and designing advanced control algorithms, including event-based control, robust tuning methods, gain scheduling, and geometric control theory approaches such as disturbance decoupling and eigenstructure assignment. Notable applications include closed-loop regulation of depth of hypnosis during general anesthesia using propofol and remifentanil, mechanical ventilation for lung protection, and system identification for mechanical systems.

Padula has authored or co-authored over 129 publications, with key works including 'A modified PID-based control scheme for depth-of-hypnosis regulation during general anesthesia' (2022), 'On the Use of FOPID Controllers for Maintenance Phase of General Anesthesia' (2023), 'PIDA control of depth of hypnosis in total intravenous anesthesia' (2024), 'A General Design Methodology for Fractional Cascade Control Systems' (2024), and 'Parameterizing Eigenvector Chains for Eigenstructure Assignment in Geometric Control Theory' (2025). His research has garnered over 2500 citations, reflecting significant impact in control theory and its interdisciplinary applications. Padula has collaborated with researchers from institutions such as the University of Brescia and Ghent University. He was shortlisted for the 2017 Curtin University Research and Engagement Award in the Faculty of Health Sciences category and contributed to projects recognized in the WA Innovator of the Year Awards. Additionally, he supervises PhD students and supports undergraduate research in control theory.