Prof. Zheng Hong (George) Zhu

York University,  Canada

Bio.: Dr. Zheng Hong (George) Zhu is a leading authority in space robotics and computational control, serving as Professor & Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York University in Canada. He received his Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Master of Applied Science from University of Waterloo and PhD from University of Toronto. 

His research spans spacecraft dynamics and control, tethered space systems, autonomous space robotics, computational control methodologies, and in-space additive manufacturing. He has published over 239 peer-reviewed journal papers and 186 conference papers, establishing an international reputation in astronautics and mechatronics. 

Dr. Zhu is an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics; a College Member of the Royal Society of Canada; a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Canada, the Engineering Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering (CSME), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is also the Associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). His achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the 2024 Solid Mechanics Medal and 2021 Robert W. Angus Medal (CSME), the 2024 Gold Medal and 2019 Engineering R&D Medal of Ontario Professional Engineers Awards, and the 2021 York University President’s Research Excellence Award.

Title: Towards a Unified Computational Framework for Modeling and Control

How can we design feedback laws for complex systems with the same universality that the Finite Element Method (FEM) brought to engineering analysis? This keynote introduces a universal computational framework that unifies modeling, stability, and optimal control of flexible and distributed-parameter systems. From spacecraft with large deployables to next-generation mechatronic platforms, discover how this approach makes advanced nonlinear control as systematic and scalable as FEM itself. Accurate control of spacecraft with flexible structures—such as tethers, solar panels, and booms—remains a critical challenge. Traditionally, this requires deep expertise and case-specific design, and no general methodology exists to algorithmically synthesize feedback laws for coupled rigid–flexible dynamics or infinite-dimensional systems. Our approach bridges this gap by extending the FEM paradigm to control: stable feedback laws are synthesized at the element level using Lyapunov theory, Pontryagin’s maximum principle, Hamiltonian mechanics, and computational solid mechanics, then assembled into a global law with rigorous guarantees of stability and controllability. By embedding these methods into existing FEM programs, advanced nonlinear control becomes as systematic, scalable and automatable for engineers as FEM is today. Numerical studies demonstrate the effectiveness of this methodology for spacecraft and next-generation mechatronic applications.