Isaac Michael Ross is a Distinguished Professor and Program Director of Control and Optimization at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He has published a highly-regarded textbook on optimal control theoryI. M. Ross, A Primer on Pontryagin’s Principle in Optimal Control, Second Edition, Collegiate Publishers, San Francisco, CA, 2015. and seminal papers in pseudospectral optimal control theory, energy-sink theory, the optimization and deflection of near-Earth asteroids and comets, robotics, attitude dynamics and control, orbital mechanics,I. M. Ross, H. Yan and F. Fahroo, "A Curiously Outlandish Problem in Orbital Mechanics," American Astronautical Society, AAS Paper 01-430, July–Aug. 2001 real-time optimal control, unscented optimal control,I. M. Ross, R. J. Proulx, and M. Karpenko, "Unscented Optimal Control for Space Flight," Proceedings of the 24th International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics (ISSFD), May 5–9, 2014, Laurel, MD. continuous optimization and aeromaneuvering guidance and control. The Kang–Ross–Gong theorem, Ross' lemma, Ross' time constant, the Ross–Fahroo lemma, and the Ross–Fahroo pseudospectral method are all named after him.B. S. Mordukhovich, Variational Analysis and Generalized Differentiation, I: Basic Theory, Vol. 330 of Grundlehren der Mathematischen Wissenschaften [Fundamental Principles of Mathematical Sciences] Series, Springer, Berlin, 2005. According to a report published by Stanford University, Ross is one of the world's top 2% of scientists.
Theoretical contributions Although Ross has made contributions to energy-sink theory, attitude dynamics and control and planetary defense, he is best known for work on pseudospectral optimal control. In 2001, Ross and Fahroo announced the covector mapping principle, first, as a special result in pseudospectral optimal control, and later as a general result in optimal control. This principle was based on the Ross–Fahroo lemma which proves that dualization and discretization are not necessarily commutative operations and that certain steps must be taken to promote commutation. When discretization is commutative with dualization, then, under appropriate conditions, Pontryagin's minimum principle emerges as a consequence of the convergence of the discretization. Together with F. Fahroo, W. Kang and Q. Gong, Ross proved a series of results on the convergence of pseudospectral discretizations of optimal control problems. Ross and his coworkers showed that the Legendre and Chebyshev pseudospectral discretizations converge to an optimal solution of a problem under the mild condition of boundedness of variations.
Software contributions In 2001, Ross created DIDO, a software package for solving optimal control problems.B. Honegger, "NPS Professor's Software Breakthrough Allows Zero-Propellant Maneuvers in Space." Navy.mil. United States Navy. April 20, 2007. (Sept. 11, 2011) http://www.elissarglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Navy_News.pdf . Powered by pseudospectral methods, Ross created a user-friendly set of objects that required no knowledge of his theory to run DIDO. This work was used in on pseudospectral methods for solving optimal control problems. DIDO is used for solving optimal control problems in aerospace applications,A. M. Hawkins, Constrained Trajectory Optimization of a Soft Lunar Landing From a Parking Orbit, S.M. Thesis, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/32431J. R. Rea, A Legendre Pseudospectral Method for Rapid Optimization of Launch Vehicle Trajectories, S.M. Thesis, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/8608 search theory, and robotics. Ross' constructs have been licensed to other software products, and have been used by NASA to solve flight-critical problems on the International Space Station.W. Kang and N. Bedrossian, "Pseudospectral Optimal Control Theory Makes Debut Flight", SIAM News, Vol. 40, Page 1, 2007.
Flight contributions In 2006, NASA used DIDO to implement zero propellant maneuvering"International Space Station Zero-Propellant Maneuver (ZPM) Demonstration (ZPM) - 07.29.14". NASA. of the International Space Station. In 2007, SIAM News printed a page 1 article announcing the use of Ross' theory. This led other researchers to explore the mathematics of pseudospectral optimal control theory. DIDO is also used to maneuver the Space Station and operate various ground and flight equipment to incorporate autonomy and performance efficiency for nonlinear control systems.
Awards and distinctions In 2010, Ross was elected a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society for "his pioneering contributions to the theory, software and flight demonstration of pseudospectral optimal control." He also received (jointly with Fariba Fahroo), the AIAA Mechanics and Control of Flight Award for "fundamentally changing the landscape of flight mechanics". His research has made headlines in SIAM News, IEEE Control Systems Magazine,N. S. Bedrossian, S. Bhatt, W. Kang, and I. M. Ross, Zero-Propellant Maneuver Guidance, IEEE Control Systems Magazine, October 2009 (Feature Article), pp 53–73. IEEE Spectrum, and Space Daily.TRACE Spacecraft's New Slewing Procedure, Space Daily, December 28, 2010
See also Ross' lemma Caratheodory- solution Ross–Fahroo pseudospectral methods Ross–Fahroo lemma Covector mapping principle Bellman pseudospectral method Flat pseudospectral methods DIDO (optimal control)
References
External links Elissar Global