research overview
- Professor Pao's research interests are in control systems (with applications to flexible structures, disk drives, atomic force microscopes, near-field scanning optical lithography systems, tape drives, wind turbines and wind farms, marine turbines, and power systems); multisensor fusion (with applications to unmanned autonomous vehicles, satellites, and automotive active safety systems); and multimodal visual/haptic/audio interfaces (with applications to scientific visualization and spatial communication). The dominant application focus is currently on wind energy systems, ranging from the design and control of extreme-scale and novel wind turbine configurations as well as the control of floating offshore wind turbines and wind farms. She is especially fascinated by common properties and characteristics of systems found across different types of systems in disparate application areas.
