2026
Data-Driven Parametric Aeroelastic Modeling of the Pazy Wing
Conference AIAA SciTech Forum · Orlando, FL, USA
PhD Researcher · Dept. of Aeronautics · Imperial College London
Mario A. Sinani.
Data-driven modeling and nonlinear control of highly flexible structures interacting with fluid flows, at the meeting point of dynamical systems, machine learning and aeroelasticity.
I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Researcher and PhD candidate in the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College London, where I develop mathematical analysis and data-driven modeling methods for the nonlinear control of highly flexible structures interacting with fluid flows. My research is supervised by Professor Rafael Palacios of the Load Control and Aeroelastics Laboratory and Dr Andrew Wynn of the Flow Control Group.
I am currently based in Seattle as a researcher at the NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems at the University of Washington, working on deep learning for scientific model discovery. Before the PhD, I built dynamic light control systems at Optotune in Zurich, researched aerial robotics and nonlinear model predictive control at the Control Systems Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens, and engineered detector systems for the CMS Phase-2 upgrade at CERN. I hold an MSc in Control, Systems and Robotics and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, both from the National Technical University of Athens.
2025
Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation for Nonlinear Multibody Modeling of Flared Hinged Wings
Journal Computer Physics Communications
2025
Physics-Informed Data-Driven Modelling of Nonlinear Aerodynamic Forces of the Pazy Wing
Conference AIAA SciTech Forum · Orlando, FL, USA
2024
Capturing & Bounding Nonlinear Modal Energy Transfer for Geometrically Exact Beams using Semidefinite Programming
Conference IEEE 63rd Conference on Decision and Control (CDC) · Milan, Italy
2022
An Event-Triggered Visual Servoing Predictive Control Strategy for the Surveillance of Contour-Based Areas using Multirotor Aerial Vehicles
Conference IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) · Kyoto, Japan
2022
Coastline Tracking for UAVs Using Event-Triggered Image-Based Visual Servoing Nonlinear Model Predictive Control
Thesis National Technical University of Athens
01
A step in the angle of attack
The response of the Pazy wing to a step, with the force nonlinear in the shape.
02
Flutter across the angle of attack
The band of angles, 3 to 4.6 degrees, in which a perturbation of the wing grows.
03
A wing tip on a flared hinge
The tip folds about a flared hinge until its own lift carries it.
04
Energy between the modes of a beam
The exchange of energy between a bending mode and an axial mode, and its bound.
05
A plan only at an event
A vehicle that computes a new plan only when its state departs from the plan.
06
The coast in the camera
The image features of a coastline, driven to their desired positions.
Aeroelasticity & Fluid–Structure Interaction
Nonlinear dynamics of very flexible wings - parametric and physics-informed models of the Pazy wing benchmark, flared hinged wingtips, and geometrically exact beams.
Machine Learning
Physics-informed, data-driven methods for scientific model discovery - learning dynamics that respect the structure of the governing equations.
Control
Nonlinear and predictive control - from semidefinite-programming bounds on modal energy transfer to event-triggered visual servoing for multirotor UAVs.
Dynamical Systems
Analysis of high-order nonlinear systems: stability, energy transfer, and reduced-order structure in systems coupling flow and elasticity.
Feb 2026 - Present
Researcher
NSF | AI Institute in Dynamic Systems - Seattle, Washington, USA
Deep learning for scientific model discovery.
Feb 2026 - Present
Researcher
University of Washington - Seattle, Washington, USA
Jul 2023 - Present
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Researcher & Teaching Assistant
Imperial College London, Dept. of Aeronautics - London, UK
Machine learning for aerospace engineering: data-driven modeling and nonlinear control of highly flexible aeroelastic structures, with the Load Control and Aeroelastics Lab and the Flow Control Group.
Jul 2022 - Jun 2023
Research & Development Engineer
Optotune - Zurich, Switzerland
Development of novel dynamic light control systems.
Dec 2020 - Mar 2022
Research Assistant in Robotics and Control
National Technical University of Athens - Athens, Greece
Aerial robotics research in the Control Systems Laboratory (Aerial Robotics Group): UAVs, nonlinear model predictive control, machine learning and computer vision. The thesis research became the IROS 2022 paper on event-triggered visual servoing.
Sep 2019 - Oct 2020
R&D Mechanical Engineer
CERN, Experimental Physics Dept. - Geneva, Switzerland
CMS detector Phase-2 upgrade with the Detector Technologies Group: ultra-thin lightweight thermal panels, temperature control of the Pixel Tracker, and structural, thermal and CFD analysis of detector systems.
2023 - Present
Doctor of Philosophy, Machine Learning, Aeronautics
Imperial College London, Dept. of Aeronautics - London, UK
2018 - 2019
Master’s degree, Control, Robotics and Mechatronics
National Technical University of Athens - Athens, Greece
2015 - 2018
Bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering
National Technical University of Athens - Athens, Greece