PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Silvia Ferrari

Silvia Ferrari is an aerospace engineer and AI researcher whose work connects learning and control with aircraft, sensors, and robotics. She coauthored neural-network flight control with Robert Stengel in 2004 and received three research awards from 2004 to 2006. In 2019, she studied moth brains for principles that could improve drone flight and collaborated with Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon researchers on AI methods for autonomous vehicles; her 2021 book with Thomas Wettergren presents algorithms for active sensing. In 2024, she applied robotics to scuba technology for diver safety. As of October 2026, she directs LISC and co-directs Cornell’s Věho Institute on Vehicle Intelligence.

Now at
Cornell-Unibo Věho Institute on Vehicle Intelligence
Born
1973

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1997–2002

    Degrees at Embry-Riddle and Princeton

    She earns a B.S. in aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle in 1997, an M.A. in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton in 1999, and a Ph.D. in the same field at Princeton in 2002.

  2. 2004

    Adaptive critic flight control

    In 2004, she coauthors “Online adaptive critic flight control” with Robert F. Stengel. The paper presents a two-phase learning procedure for a neural-network controller and tests it on a six-degree-of-freedom business-jet simulation. The controller improves performance when it faces unexpected conditions.

  3. 2004–2006

    Three research awards

    She receives the ONR Young Investigator Award in 2004, the NSF CAREER Award in 2005, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2006.

  4. 2019

    Moth brains and autonomous vehicles

    She receives a $400,000 grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in 2019 to study moth brains for principles that could improve drone flight. In related work in 2019, she collaborates with researchers from Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon University on a $1.8 million grant from Georgia Tech to develop a method of combining data from different sources, including AI algorithms, for autonomous vehicles.

  5. 2021

    Information-driven planning and control

    In 2021, she and Thomas A. Wettergren publish Information-Driven Planning and Control through The MIT Press. The book presents planning and control algorithms for active sensing, with examples of applications for specific sensor technologies.

  6. September 2022

    Associate dean at Cornell

    Before joining Cornell, she serves as a professor of engineering and computer science at Duke, where she founds and directs an NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship and Fellowship program on Wireless Intelligent Sensor Networks. In September 2022, Cornell names her its inaugural associate dean for cross-campus engineering research.

  7. 2024

    Robotics for diver safety

    In 2024, she applies her work on complex systems to integrating scuba-diving technology with robotic systems. Her work on underwater robotics and autonomous underwater vehicles includes robots that assist divers with complex underwater tasks and help make them safer.

  8. As of October 2026

    Directing LISC and Věho

    As of October 2026, she directs Cornell’s Laboratory for Intelligent Systems and Controls (LISC) and co-directs the Cornell-Unibo Věho Institute on Vehicle Intelligence at Cornell Tech.

Career

  1. NowCornell UniversityAssociate dean for cross-campus engineering research
  2. NowCornell-Unibo Věho Institute on Vehicle IntelligenceCo-director
  3. Until 2022Duke UniversityProfessor of engineering and computer science

Education

  1. 2002Princeton UniversityPh.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering
  2. 1999Princeton UniversityM.A. in mechanical and aerospace engineering
  3. 1997Embry–Riddle Aeronautical UniversityB.S. in aerospace engineering

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Cornell University. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Cornell University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Cornell University. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  4. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Cornell University. 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.

Sources and credits

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  1. Silvia Ferrari | Cornell Duffield Engineering duffield.cornell.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Online adaptive critic flight control - Princeton University collaborate.princeton.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Study explores moth brains to improve drone flight - Cornell Chronicle news.cornell.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Information-Driven Planning and Control - Penguin Random House penguinrandomhouse.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. New position to intensify cross-campus engineering research - Cornell Chronicle news.cornell.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Silvia Ferrari - Divers Alert Network dan.org. Checked 22 October 2026.