Rudge (1948) and Nancy Allen Career Development Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Gioele Zardini joins CEE from Stanford University, where he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He will be teaching a new class 1.S980: Applied Category Theory for Engineering Design. Learn more about his research and what brought him to MIT in this faculty spotlight.

Hometown: Mendrisio, Switzerland

Tell us about your research focus and why you enjoy this work?
In my research, I focus on addressing the design challenges of “complex systems”, which are characterized by many components, and intricate interactions among them. Examples include orchestrating networks of robots (e.g., autonomous vehicles on the roads), designing a spacecraft integrating hardware and software components, or building future mobility systems that combine various modes of transport. Specifically, our work focuses on developing mathematical models and algorithms for effective system design, steering new technologies toward positive societal impacts, and creating user-friendly tools to help stakeholders understand and navigate design trade-offs.

How did you become interested in this work?
During my studies, I realized that we are getting to a point where the technologies we design are very rapidly deployed in the real world with massive societal impacts, not only in isolation but featuring intertwined interactions with humans and existing infrastructure. We often design such systems in a compartmentalized manner, ignoring the interactive context in which they operate. In short, we lack tools for the formal and practical (i.e., computationally and intellectually tractable) co-design of interconnected systems. This is a broad area involving the interplay of components in an engineered system (e.g., components of the autonomy stack of a robot), strategic interactions between different stakeholders in complex settings (e.g., mobility stakeholders), the regulation of new technologies (e.g., risk assessment, liability issues), transparent behavior specification and verification for such technologies, and the role of data in all of this.

What are you most excited about/looking forward to as a CEE faculty member?
MIT and more specifically MIT CEE is a truly special place for at least three reasons. First, I’m impressed by the interdisciplinary nature of its research groups, which make foundational contributions in areas ranging from systems engineering to materials, and environmental science. I look forward to deepening my knowledge in these areas. Second, I fully resonate with the department’s motto “sustainability across scales”, its overarching vision. Lastly, I am inspired by the students I met so far, who embrace interdisciplinary to tackle the pressing engineering challenges our society faces.

What were you doing (type of work and location) before coming to MIT and what drew you to MIT CEE?
Before joining MIT CEE, I was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University (CA) for 6 months, sponsored by NASA. Before that, I was working on my doctorate at ETH Zurich, in Switzerland. I was drawn to MIT CEE to join forces with a distinctive group of individuals, united by the will to solve societal challenges.

Who, furry or human, came with you to Cambridge?
I came to Cambridge with my other half, my wife Sonia. And some Swiss chocolate (perhaps bending the rules on “reasonable quantities” for a checked bag).

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love spending my days outdoors, hiking, running (though not as much recently), and skiing. I’m a huge ice hockey fan and a (former) player, and I’m always excited to learn new sports. I also love traveling, playing the guitar, and going to concerts. As a Swiss-Italian, I have a passion for cooking, but more importantly, I love to eat!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
In high school, I was in a band, and we even sold our music and got broadcasted on national radio stations. Traces have been erased! 🙂

What classes will you be teaching this fall semester?
This fall semester I will teach my new class 1.S980: Applied Category Theory for Engineering Design (ACT4ED). Check out the dedicated website, which includes a teaser video!