Rate My Professor Zhenbo Wang

Zhenbo Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he has served since August 2018, initially as an Assistant Professor before his promotion in August 2024. He earned his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University in 2018, a Master of Engineering from Beihang University in 2013, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2010. At Purdue, he received the Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018 and the Koerner Scholarship in 2017. Wang directs the Autonomous Systems Laboratory at UTK, focusing his research on optimal control, numerical optimization, convex optimization, machine learning, guidance and control, space systems, aerial vehicles, connected and automated vehicles, and power and energy systems. His work advances autonomous air mobility systems, including development of control schemes for drones navigating urban environments, supported by a dedicated 1,000-square-foot lab space for flight experiments.

Wang has garnered significant recognition, including the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program Award in 2023 providing $537,847 over five years to establish infrastructures and control techniques for high-density autonomous air operations. Additional honors include the Professional Promise in Research Award from the Tickle College of Engineering in 2024 and the Louis and Ann Hoffman Endowed Excellence in Research Award from the department in 2023. His influential publications encompass 'A survey on convex optimization for guidance and control of vehicular systems' (Annual Reviews in Control, 2024), 'Convex approach to real-time multiphase trajectory optimization for urban air mobility' (Journal of Air Transportation, 2024), 'Geometric design of hypersonic vehicles for optimal mission performance with high-fidelity aerodynamic models' (Journal of Aircraft, 2023), and 'Autonomous entry guidance for hypersonic vehicles by convex optimization' (Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 2018). As a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), he serves on the AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee and as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, while reviewing for leading journals in aerospace and control.