I am Gowtham Venkatraman, a graduate student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Ohio State University.

Research interests

My primary focus area is Non-linear dynamics and control.

Non-linear Control	Structural Control	System Identification
Optimal Control	Non-linear dynamics/bifurcations	Robust Control

I am looking for opportunities to join a leading research group and work along these lines.

About the field

Non-linear dynamics is rich in nature, from simple coupled pendula to complex chemical reactions. Study of these systems is non-trivial, and abounds with unexpected phenomena. Similarly, some control systems do not conform to simple linearization methods, and need to be treated with their non-linearities, either by reducing them, or adapting controllers that are also non-linear. This is a very important field especially is control of smart actuators, used for example in a atomic-force microscope. Precise motion control requires consideration of hysteritic properties of the material, and hence non-linear control is required. Optimal control brings two diverse areas of optimization and controller development and has numerous numerical challenges. These areas are new and emerging, and are finding new applications, and is extremely interdisciplinary. I am very excited about working in these broad areas.