I am an assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) department since January 2024. Before, I was a postdoctoral scholar in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at Stanford University, working with Prof. Mykel Kochenderfer at Stanford Intelligent Systems Lab (SISL) and Stanford Center for AI Safety. I received my Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering at the University of Virginia, where I was part of Autonomous Mobile Robots Lab and Link Lab under the supervision of Prof. Nicola Bezzo. I received my MS and BS degrees from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Bogazici University, Istanbul in 2016 and 2014 respectively.
At RPI, I am the director of the Reliable Intelligent Systems Laboratory (RISL). If you’re interested in learning more about this lab, please take a look at the Research page. RISL has openings for fully-funded PhD positions (Fall 2024 start). If you are interested in the research, please contact Esen Yel by sending an email to “yele@rpi.edu” with your CV.
My research focuses on developing techniques to improve the safety of autonomous systems operating under uncertainty. I leverage reachability analysis tools, machine learning, and runtime monitoring and recovery techniques to provide safe decisions and to adapt to unforeseen conditions.
I enjoy hiking, ultimate frisbee, yoga, collecting vintage photographs, and traveling.
Recent News
January 2024, I joined RPI as an assistant professor.
April 2023, Our paper Backward Reachability Analysis of Neural Feedback Loops: Techniques for Linear and Nonlinear Systems is accepted to IEEE Open Journal of Control Systems.
March 2023, Our paper Experience Filter: Using Past Experiences on Unseen Tasks or Environments is accepted to the IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV)!
March 2023, I accepted a tenure-track faculty position at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) department! I will start in January 2024.
August 2022, I’m selected for EECS Rising Stars Workshop at UT Austin!