Dominic Liao-McPherson
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of British Columbia
website: https://mech.ubc.ca/dominic-liao-mcpherson/
email: dliaomcp@mech.ubc.ca
Short Bio
I received my BASc in Engineering Science (AERO 1T4 + PEY) from the University of Toronto in 2015 and my PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 2020. I was then a postdoc at the ETH Zürich Automatic Control Lab (ifA) before joining UBC in 2023. My research interests lie at the intersection of optimization, control, and computing with applications in robotics, energy, and aerospace. In my free time, I enjoy skiing, hiking, mountaineering, cooking, and sailing.
PhD Students
Sara Hatami Gazani
Sara graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tehran in 2021, followed by a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Victoria in 2023. Outside of her studies, you’ll often find her immersed in a good book or learning a new language.
Research Interests
Sara’s main research area is active sensing and perception for robotic systems. She’s working on designing feedback control strategies for maximizing informatively of data motivated by problems in mobile sensing, infrastructure inspection, and machine learning.
Sophie Hall
Sophie is a PhD student at the Automatic Control Lab at ETH Zürich (with F. Dörfler and G. Belgioioso) and a Joint Doctoral Research Scholar at UBC. She received the Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She completed her Master’s degree at ETH Zurich in Biomedical Engineering focusing on modelling and control.
Research Interests
Sophie’s main research area is dynamic resource allocation using receding horizon games, a combination of model predictive control and game-theory. She is working to understand how self-interest, fairness, cooperation, competition, and privacy impact closed-loop stability and robustness in large-scale socio-technical infrastructure systems like the energy grid, supply chains, and autonomous driving.
MASc Students
Niko Andrianos
Niko Andrianos completed his BASc degree at UBC in Integrated Engineering in December, 2023. In his free time, Niko plays rugby for the UBC Men’s Rugby team.
Research Interests
Niko’s research revolves around real-time economic optimization of distribution grids integrating energy pricing, energy storage, and forecasting. The aim is to enable the controller to automatically manage congestion and shift loads during peak energy demand periods by coordinating renewable generation, batteries, and buying or selling power from the transmission grid.