PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Mehran Mesbahi

Mehran Mesbahi is an aerospace engineer and control theorist at the University of Washington whose recent work brings machine learning into feedback control, from policy optimization to multi-agent reinforcement learning for satellites. After a PhD at the University of Southern California in 1996, he worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and taught at the University of Minnesota before joining UW in 2002. With Magnus Egerstedt, he wrote Graph-theoretic Methods in Multiagent Networks in 2010, and he became an IEEE Fellow in 2015 and an AIAA Fellow in 2024. In 2025, his paper with Joshua Holder and Natasha Jaques on reinforcement learning for satellite assignment was chosen for an oral presentation at AAAI. He is chair of UW's Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics, a role he took up in July 2026, and sits on Washington's Governor's Space Council.

Now at
University of Washington, Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation and Governor's Space Council
Works
345
Citations
12,839
h-index
47
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1996

    Degrees from USC

    After a BS at California State University, he earns a master's in mathematics, an MSEE and a PhD at the University of Southern California, finishing the doctorate in June 1996.

  2. 1996–1999

    Guidance and control at JPL

    From July 1996 to December 1999, he works in the Guidance and Control Analysis Group of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech, with appointments at USC and in Caltech's Department of Control and Dynamical Systems. His JPL work includes attitude estimation, guidance and control for the Cassini mission to Saturn, which brings him a NASA achievement award in 1998.

  3. 2000–2002

    Assistant professor at Minnesota

    From January 2000 to July 2002, he is an assistant professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The National Science Foundation gives him a CAREER Award in 2001.

  4. 2002–2005

    Joining the University of Washington

    In summer 2002, he joins the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington. He wins the UW Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005, along with several department teaching awards for undergraduate and graduate courses.

  5. 2009–2010

    A book on multiagent networks

    In 2009, he coauthors a SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization paper on the controllability of multi-agent systems from a graph-theoretic perspective. With Magnus Egerstedt, he publishes Graph-theoretic Methods in Multiagent Networks with Princeton University Press in 2010, a book widely adopted for courses on networked dynamic systems.

  6. 2015–2024

    IEEE and AIAA fellowships

    He becomes a Fellow of IEEE in 2015. In 2021, the UW College of Engineering names him J. Ray Bowen Endowed Professor in Engineering Education, a five-year appointment, while his Robotics, Aerospace and Information Networks (RAIN) Lab works on network control. Membership in the Washington State Academy of Sciences follows in 2023, and AIAA elects him a Fellow in 2024.

  7. 2022–2025

    Reinforcement learning for satellites

    From 2022 to 2024, he is a senior technical advisor for Blue Origin. In June 2024, he coauthors a survey with Shahriar Talebi, Yang Zheng, Spencer Kraisler and Na Li on the geometry of policy optimization in feedback control. A March 2025 paper with Joshua Holder and Natasha Jaques, applying multi-agent reinforcement learning to sequential satellite assignment, is selected for oral presentation at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence.

  8. Since November 2025

    Chair of Aeronautics & Astronautics

    He becomes interim chair of the William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics in November 2025, and in July 2026 Dean Nancy Allbritton appoints him chair for a five-year term. He also serves as executive director of the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation. In September 2026, he is named to the Governor's Space Council, which advises Governor Bob Ferguson on Washington's space economy.

Career

  1. Since 2026Governor's Space CouncilMember
  2. Since 2002University of WashingtonJ. Ray Bowen Endowed Professor in Engineering Education, Chair
  3. NowJoint Center for Aerospace Technology InnovationExecutive director
  4. 2022–2024Blue OriginSenior technical advisor
  5. 2000–2002University of MinnesotaAssistant professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics
  6. 1996–1999NASA
  7. 1996–1999University of Southern California
  8. 1996–1999California Institute of Technology

Education

  1. 1996University of Southern CaliforniaMaster's in mathematics, MSEE, PhD
  2. California State UniversityBS

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Graph Theoretic Methods in Multiagent Networks2010 · Princeton University Press eBooks · 2,900 citations
  2. Controllability of Multi-Agent Systems from a Graph-Theoretic Perspective2009 · SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization · 768 citations
  3. On Maximizing the Second Smallest Eigenvalue of a State-Dependent Graph Laplacian2006 · IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control · 605 citations
  4. Agreement over random networks2004 · Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision & Control, including the Symposium on Adaptive Processes · 550 citations
  5. From Noisy Data to Feedback Controllers: Nonconservative Design via a Matrix S-Lemma2020 · IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control · 384 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Washington. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Washington. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. Of 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google, 446 work there nowIncludes University of Washington. Our estimates of where the 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google and Google DeepMind work now: 446 at Google and 452 across 278 other organizations.
  4. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes University of Washington. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Mehran Mesbahi yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Mehran Mesbahi | UW William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics aa.washington.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Mehran Mesbahi - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. about+ | Mehran Mesbahi mehran-mesbahi.github.io. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Mesbahi appointed J. Ray Bowen Endowed Professor | UW William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics aa.washington.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. books | Mehran Mesbahi mehran-mesbahi.github.io. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Mesbahi elected AIAA Fellow | UW William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics aa.washington.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Mehran Mesbahi mehran-mesbahi.github.io. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Policy Optimization in Control: Geometry and Algorithmic Implications arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Mehran Mesbahi to serve as A&A chair | UW College of Engineering engr.washington.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Governor Ferguson creates Governor’s Space Council content.govdelivery.com. Checked 20 October 2026.