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Biography

After completing a master’s in electrical engineering, Abhishek Phadke graduated with his PhD in Geospatial and Computer Science from Texas A&M University. In this interdisciplinary program, he focused on the multi-faceted requirements of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles and their Guidance, Navigation, and Control. This challenge is further complicated by considering swarms of UAVs. A UAV swarm is a set of UAV agents working towards a common goal. These swarms typically function in complex, dynamic environments. A UAV swarm system is highly susceptible to failure due to disruptions in this dynamic environment. Creating “resilient” UAV swarms was thus the challenge Abhishek explored in his PhD dissertation. He proposed a three-pronged approach that consisted of self-healing swarm networks, simulation, and modeling of environmental disruptions to strengthen agent response and unified swarm management frameworks. During this period, he has also explored supporting technologies in intrusion detection in networks, blockchain, and vehicular microclouds. In addition to continuing research on swarm resilience, Abhishek is also pursuing promising research in the Urban Aerial Mobility and Personal Aerial Vehicle domains, focusing on complex optimization and policy problems such as placement of vertiports, governing software for PAVs, and augmented “highways in the sky” deployment for aerial vehicles.