Nejat Olgac

Professor

Dr. Olgac joined the faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department in 1981. He received his Doctor of Science degree from Columbia University in 1976 and M.Sc. degree at the Technical Univ. of Istanbul, Turkey 1972 (summa-cum-laude), both in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining the department, he directed an industrial operation in radio, television, and home appliance manufacturing. His research interests are on time-delayed systems, vibration suppression techniques, nonlinear robust control of dynamic systems, and micromanipulation in cellular biology.

On the stability of time delayed systems he has introduced a mathematical paradigm, called the Cluster Treatment of Characteristic Roots (CTCR). This paradigm has direct application in the fields of optimized high-speed machining chatter (resulted in a patent in 2011), communication networks, conventional digital feedback controls and thermoacoustic instability controls. Dr. Olgac also invented a new concept of actively tuning vibration absorbers. This concept, called the Delayed Resonator (DR), resulted in three patents (1995, 1996 and 1999). In his work on nonlinear robust control of dynamic systems, he has developed advanced control algorithms for systems with uncertain dynamics using sliding mode control fundamentals. Dr. Olgac is currently exploring new methodologies in time-delay management for complex systems with multiple time delays, optimal semi-active vibration control strategies, and nano-manipulative tasks in bioengineering. His publications can be traced at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=o6FP7rzY7I4C&hl=en.

Prof. Olgac’s research has been funded by DoE, NSF, NIH, ONR, NOAA, ARO, GE, Connecticut Innovations Inc., Pratt and Whitney, Sikorsky, General Dynamics and other industries. He is the director of Advanced Laboratory for Robotics, Automation and Manufacturing (ALARM) at UConn. Dr. Olgac was a guest professor at INRIA (France; 1988 — 89) the Technical University of Munich (1995 — 96), Harvard University (2002 — 03) and Czech Technical University in Prague, CVUT (2017-18). He is a member of CASE (Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering), Fellow of ASME and Senior Member of IEEE, has served as a member and the chair of the Executive Committee of ASME-Dynamic Systems and Control Division. He has served or is serving on the editorial boards of the ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, IEEE, Tran. Control System Technology, J. Vibration and Control, Int. J. of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, Bulletin of Applied Mechanics, He also served on the board of directors of American Automatic Control Council (AACC). He was the General Chair of IFAC Time Delay Systems Workshop (TDS) 2012, and General Chairman of ASME Dynamic Systems and Controls Conference, DSCC 2013. He is the recipient of a UCONN Research Excellence Award (2015) and ASME Distinguished Engineer Award of the Year, Hartford Chapter, CT (2015). He was the recipient of Doctor Honoris Causa (https://www.fs.cvut.cz/news/953-3356/prof-nejat-olgac-will-receive-the-honorary-title-doktor-honoris-causa/ ) from the Czech Technical University, Prague (2019).