Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Southern California
3620 S. Vermont Avenue, KAP 210
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2531
USA
I am currently a graduate student at USC (University of Southern California). My research is focused on computationally efficient structural system identification and control. I am supported by a Viterbi Ph.D. Fellowship at USC.
I have earned my Master's degrees in Civil Engineering with specialization in Structural Engineering from Indian Institute of Science in 2013 and in Electrical Engineering from University of Southern California in 2016. I carried out research on Bayesian model selection and was supported by scholarships from Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Govt. of India during my stay at IISc.
I have received a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE) degree from Jadavpur University in 2011. My research topic in undergrad was Application of Genetic algorithm in civil engineering problems.
Education:
Ph.D. (Expected: 2018) University of Southern California, Los Angeles GPA - 4.0/4.0
M.S. in Electrical Engineering (2016) University of Southern California, Los Angeles GPA - 4.0/4.0
M.Engg. in Structural Engineering (2013) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore GPA - 7.5/8.0
Graduate Research Assistant (August, 2014 to May, 2015) University of Southern California Supervisor: Erik A. Johnson, Ph.D.
Research Assistant (August, 2012 to July, 2013) Indian Institute of Science Supervisors: C. S. Manohar, Ph.D., and Debraj Ghosh, Ph.D.
Asia-Pacific Summer School on Smart Structures Technology (July - August, 2015) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Uncertainty Quantification Summer School (August, 2016) Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Southern California
Grader for CE 529a: Finite Element Analysis (Summer 2016) Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Southern California
Research Interests:
Efficient Bayesian Model Selection (2013 - ) University of Southern California Development of a computationally efficient method using Nonlinear Volterra type Integral Equations (NVIE) to model selection problems.
This work is done in collaboration with Prof. Steven Wojtkiewicz of Clarkson University and Dr. Mahmoud Kamalzare.
Our contribution is threefold:
Incorporating dynamic time history data for nonlinear models as the modal parameters changes with time in nonlinear models.
Using NVIE approach the speedup is of two orders of magnitude compared to traditional nonlinear solvers.
The approach is demonstrated using a 100 DOF building structure.
Efficient Optimal Design of Passive Structural Control Devices (2013 - )
University of Southern California Development of computationally efficient design procedure of passive control devices for complex structures using NVIE approach.
This work is done in collaboration with Prof. Steven Wojtkiewicz of Clarkson University and Dr. Mahmoud Kamalzare.
The proposed method has the following characteristics:
Realizable computation time for large and complex structures.
Trade-off between accuracy and speedup exists.
Uncertainty in the existing structure can be incorporated.
Application in a benchmark cable-stayed bridge.
Bayesian Model Selection in Structural Engineering (August 2012 to July 2013) Indian Institute of Science A rigorous study on prior sensitivity, incorporation of training and validation data in Bayesian model selection.
Academic Background:
Dynamics: Structural Dynamics, Finite Element Method in Dynamics, Random Vibrations and Structural Reliability ....
Control Theory: Linear Feedback Control, Linear System Theory, Robust and Multivariable Control ....
Probability, Ordinary Differential Equations, Finite element method, Digital Signal Processing, Computational tools for Optimization, Machine Learning, Wavelets ....
De, S., Johnson, E.A. and, Wojtkiewicz S.F. and, Brewick, P.T. "Computationally-Efficient Bayesian Model Selection for Locally Nonlinear Structural Dynamical Systems", (submitted).
International Conferences
De, S., Kamalzare, M., Johnson, E.A. and , Wojtkiewicz S.F., "Efficient Optimal Design of Passive Structural Control Devices for Complex Structures", ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference, August 2014 . McMaster University, ON, Canada.
De, S., Kamalzare, M., Johnson, E.A. and , Wojtkiewicz S.F., "Computationally-Efficient Bayesian Model Selection for Structural Systems with Local Nonlinearities", ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference, August 2014, McMaster University, ON, Canada.
De, S., Johnson, E.A. and , Wojtkiewicz S.F., "Efficient Optimal Design-Under-Uncertainty of Passive Structural Control Devices", 12th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, ICASP12, July 2015, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
De, S., Johnson, E.A. and , Wojtkiewicz S.F., "Fast Bayesian Model Selection with Application to Large Locally-Nonlinear Dynamic Systems ", 6th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Structural Engineering, 11th International Workshop on Advanced Smart Materials and Smart Structures Technology, August 1-2, 2015, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.
De, S., Johnson, E.A. and , Wojtkiewicz S.F., Brewick, P.B., "Efficient Bayesian Model Selection for Locally Nonlinear Systems incorporating Dynamic Measurements", 10th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM), September 2015, Stanford University, CA, USA.
De, S., Brewick, P.T., Johnson, E.A. and, Wojtkiewicz S.F. "Exploration of Error Rate Criteria to Decide Bounds for Model Falsification'', ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference, 22-25 May, 2016, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Model Selection Toolbox for MATLAB:
Coming soon
Honors and Awards:
Recipient of Viterbi PhD Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Southern California (2013-2017).
Recipient of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India Scholarship for Graduate studies (August, 2011-July, 2013).
GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) All India Rank: 5th in the year 2011 (Civil Engineering).
University Bronze Medal in Jadavpur University.
Offered admission to University of Cambridge, Johns Hopkins University, Purdue University, SUNY, Buffalo, Ph.D. program (2013).
Selected to receive Ph.D Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
