Azad M Madni

Azad M. Madni is a Distinguished University Professor of Astronautics, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), holding the Northrop Grumman Fred O’Green Chair in Engineering. He serves as Executive Director of USC’s Systems Architecting and Engineering Program and Founding Director of the Distributed Autonomy and Intelligent Systems Laboratory. His affiliations include the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (joint appointment), Keck School of Medicine (courtesy), and Rossier School of Education (courtesy). He also leads the Ph.D. program in Systems Engineering in Astronautics and is a Senior Fellow at the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute.

Education:

• Doctoral Degree in Engineering, University of California - Los Angeles
• Master's Degree in Engineering, University of California - Los Angeles
• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, University of California - Los Angeles

Research Focus: His work bridges human-AI collaboration via augmented intelligence, transdisciplinary systems engineering, digital twin applications in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), and autonomous systems. He explores adaptive cyber-physical-human systems, machine learning, and interactive storytelling in virtual worlds.

Awards & Honors:

• 2023 IEEE Simon Ramo Medal
• 2023 NAE Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Education
• 2023 AIMBE College of Fellows
• 2020 Norbert Wiener Research Award
• 2014 INCOSE Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2011 INCOSE Pioneer Award

Advising & Grants: Principal Investigator on 97 R&D projects totaling $100M+. He advises through USC’s Ginsberg Institute and leads the Ph.D. SE program. His company, Intelligent Systems Technology Inc., develops model-based solutions for global challenges.

Labs & Teams: Founder of the Distributed Autonomy Lab and affiliated with USC’s London Digital Twin Research Centre. Collaborates across biomedical, aerospace, and educational domains.