USC Viterbi Honors Irena Lasiecka With 2026 Balakrishnan Award

A lecture linking flutter control and AI

The fifth annual Balakrishnan awards will be presented on October 15 at USC's Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center, according to USC Viterbi. Lasiecka is invited to deliver a lecture titled "Control of Gas-Structure Interaction, Mathematical Theory and AI Perspective."

In the talk, she will outline how gas flowing over deformable structures can trigger unstable oscillations known as flutter, which can potentially lead to structural damage or catastrophic failure. She will also discuss how mathematical models can establish a foundation for AI-assisted control methods. These include data-driven approaches to designing feedback systems and optimizing the placement of actuators.

USC describes the work as connecting rigorous mathematical analysis with emerging artificial intelligence techniques for controlling complex physical systems.

The recipient's background

Lasiecka is a Distinguished University Professor and Faudree University Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Memphis. She is also Commonwealth Professor of Mathematics Emerita at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on applied mathematics and control theory for systems governed by partial differential equations.

She has authored or co-authored more than 300 research papers and several monographs. She is a lifetime fellow of several organizations:

• the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• the American Mathematical Society
• the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• the International Federation for Information Processing

Her other honors include the 2019 Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award and the 2011 SIAM W.T. Reid Prize.

About the award

USC Viterbi established the award through a gift from Sophia Balakrishnan. It honors the legacy of her late husband, A.V. "Bal" Balakrishnan, described by the school as a pioneering researcher in the mathematics of systems.

The award alternates between an Early Career Award in odd-numbered years and a Research Award in even-numbered years. Lasiecka will receive the 2026 Research Award and a $10,000 honorarium.

According to USC, the award's namesake helped lay the groundwork for Lasiecka's research through his pioneering work in the continuum theory of aeroelasticity. The A.V. "Bal" Balakrishnan Chair is currently held by Petros A. Ioannou, University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with joint appointments in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering.

What it means

The choice of lecture topic points to growing interest in pairing established control theory with AI methods for physical systems. Per USC, the focus is on using mathematical models as the base for data-driven feedback design and actuator placement, rather than replacing that theory.