9625161 Bayly This CAREER project emphasizes the integration of education and research in the areas of dynamic system theory and control. In the education plan, insight into nonlinear systems is enhanced through physical experiments, undergraduate and graduate course development, and outreach activities. The research applications deal with two areas: rotorcraft dynamics, and the dynamics of ventricular fibrillation. Specifically, stabilization of periodic orbits in rotocrafts is investigated providing a theoretical basis for an autopilot that stabilizes underlying unstable or neutrally stable periodic behavior. In the area of dynamics and control of ventricular fibrillation, an experimental project is carried out in collaboration with a medical team from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Cardiac Pace Makers, Inc. Emphases is on the development of quantitative methods to characterize the dynamics of ventricular fibrillation, algorithms to predict and control nonlinear dynamics, and clinical methods to improve regional capture of ventricular fibrillation by pacing stimuli.***
