After earning his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University, Dr. Marco Ciarcià served as a research associate at the Spacecraft Robotics Laboratory at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, until 2015. From 2016 to 2023, he was an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at South Dakota State University. Subsequently, he joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University.

 

Since 2021, Dr. Ciarcià has been an active member of the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technical Committee. He is also the CTO and co-founder of AeroFly LLC, a company focused on UAV design and development.

 

Dr. Ciarcià’s research interests include robotics, mechatronics, UAV design, optimal and nonlinear control, spacecraft guidance, navigation and control, and small satellites. His teaching portfolio includes courses in Aircraft Design, Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control, Optimal Control, Automatic Control, Machine Design, Robotics, and Mechatronics.