The Decision and Control Laboratory (DCL) at Georgia Tech held its annual Student Symposium at the Tech Square Research Building on April 18, 2025, bringing together graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty working in the areas of systems and control.

The full-day event was entirely student-organized and provided a unique opportunity for the DCL community to share research, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and engage in discussions at the frontier of control theory, robotics, and decision-making. The symposium was funded by the Demetrius T. Paris Junior Professorship, held by School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Associate Professor Sam Coogan.

"We have a long tradition in ECE of hosting the DCL student symposium annually,” Coogan said. “It's a great opportunity for students, postdocs, and faculty from across campus to come together for a day of sharing research and finding new connections. And it's completely student-organized and student-led. The student organizing committee gains valuable experience planning a meeting like this—a skill that proves useful whether they pursue careers in academia or industry."

In the morning, students participated in a series of rapid two-minute talks consisting of concise snapshots of their research, followed by a poster session. This format encouraged spontaneous discussion and collaboration among attendees. In the afternoon, students had the opportunity to present longer, 15 minute, spotlight talks of their research.

“The symposium is an excellent opportunity for student researchers to practice presenting their work in a low-stakes academic context,” said Akash Harapanahalli, a Ph.D. student working with Coogan, and the chair of the organizing committee. “My favorite part of organizing the event was being able to bring together participants from all over campus—including the Schools of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (ME), Aerospace Engineering (AE), Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE)—who each had unique perspectives to offer”.

The symposium also featured four keynote presentations from Georgia Tech faculty: ISyE associate professor Siva Theja Maguluri, AE Associate Professor Yongxin Chen, ME Assistant Professor Shreyas Kousik, and AE Assistant Professor Lu Gan, who provided interesting perspectives on the varying theoretical and applied aspects of decision making, control, optimization, and robotics.

There was also a thought-provoking panel entitled “The Future of Decision-Making and Control,” where Kousik, AE Assistant Professors Glen Chou and Sarah Li, along with ECE Research Engineer Chih-Yuan (Frank) Chiu answered several student questions ranging from the importance of safety in the modern era, to how to survive as an academic.

The DCL Symposium continues to serve as a vibrant platform for students to showcase their work, receive feedback from peers and faculty, and connect across research labs. The organizing committee extends their thanks to all speakers, attendees, and participants who helped make the 2025 event a success.

Anyone wanting to participate in future years, or be added to the DCL mailing list, please email Akash Harapanahalli at aharapan@gatech.edu.