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Maurizio Porfiri

Dr. Maurizio Porfiri is an Institute Professor at New York University Tandon School of Engineering,  with tenured appointments at the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress of New York University. He received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech, in 2000 and 2006; a “Laurea” in Electrical Engineering (with honors) and a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Toulon (dual degree program), in 2001 and 2005, respectively. He has been on the faculty of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department since 2006, when he founded the Dynamical Systems Laboratory.

Dr. Porfiri is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He has served in the Editorial Board of ASME Journal of Dynamics systems, Measurements and Control, ASME Journal of Vibrations and Acoustics, Flow: Applications of Fluid Mechanics, IEEE Control Systems Letters, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I, IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, Mathematics in Engineering, and Mechatronics. Dr. Porfiri is engaged in conducting and supervising research on complex systems, with applications from mechanics to behavior, public health, and robotics.

He is the author of approximately 400 journal publications, including papers in Nature, Nature Human Behaviour, and Physical Review Letters. He was included in the “Brilliant 10” list of Popular Science in 2010 and his research featured in major media outlets, such as CNN, NPR, Scientific American, and Discovery Channel. Other significant recognitions include National Science Foundation CAREER award; invitations to the Frontiers of Engineering Symposium and the Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium organized by National Academy of Engineering; invitation to the third and fourth World Laureate Forums; the Outstanding Young Alumnus award by the college of Engineering of Virginia Tech; the ASME Gary Anderson Early Achievement Award; the ASME DSCD Young Investigator Award; the ASME C.D. Mote, Jr. Early Career Award; and the Research Excellence Award from New York University Tandon School of Engineering.

Watch Office Hours with Maurizio Porfiri: The data illuminating gun violence
Research Interests
Collective Behavior Complex Systems Network Science Theoretical Mechanics Urban Science

Sapienza University of Rome, 2001
Laurea (B.Sc./M.Sc.), Electrical Engineering

Sapienza University of Rome, 2005
Doctor of Philosophy, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 2000
Master of Science, Engineering Mechanics

University of Toulon, 2005
Doctor of Philosophy, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 2006
Doctor of Philosophy, Engineering Mechanics


NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Institute Professor
From: January 2020 to present

NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Professor
From: September 2014 to present

NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Associate Professor
From: September 2011 to August 2014

NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Assistant Professor
From: July 2006 to September 2011

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Post-Doctoral Associate
From: July 2005 to June 2006


Journal Articles (selection from the last ten years)


  • Institute Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, 2020
  • ASME Fellow, 2019
  • IEEE Fellow, Control Systems Society, 2019 ("For contributions to biomimetic robotics")
  • ASME C.D. Mote, Jr. Early Career Award, 2015
  • Invitee of Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, National Academy of Engineering, 2014
  • Jacobs Excellence in Education Award, 2014
  • ASME Dynamic Systems & Control Division Young Investigator Award, 2013 
  • ASME Gary Anderson Early Achievement Award, 2013 
  • Outstanding Young Alumnus, College of Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2012
  • Best student paper competition award at the 2012 ASME Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (with graduate students Youngsu Cha and Matteo Aureli)
  • Invited speaker for the “lectio magistralis” at “Sapienza Ricerca”, 2011
  • Best paper award at the 2011 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference (with graduate student Nicole Abaid)
  • Invitee of Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, National Academy of Engineering, 2011
  • Jacobs Excellence in Education Award, 2011
  • Popular Science "Brilliant Ten", 2010
  • Best robotics paper award at the 2009 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference (with graduate students Matteo Aureli and Vladislav Kopman)
  • NSF Career award (Dynamical systems), 2008
  • H2CU medal, 2008

 


Research Briefs

Feb 7, 2024

Nov 22, 2023

Aug 8, 2022

Jun 6, 2022

Research Centers, Labs, and Groups