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Behçet Açikmeşe received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University. He has been a senior member of the Guidance and Control (G&C) Analysis Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) since 2003, later returning to Purdue University as a visiting Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering. His research focuses on the development of guidance, control, and estimation algorithms for formation-flying spacecraft, proximity operations for asteroids and comets, and planetary landing, employing interior point methods for real-time solutions to convex optimization problems. Açikmeşe's innovative work led to the concept of 'lossless convexification', which facilitates solving a wide range of nonconvex optimal control problems using computationally efficient convex optimization techniques. His contributions have provided critical insights that advanced G&C technologies, making precise planetary landing capabilities feasible. Throughout his career, he has participated in significant NASA missions, including the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, where he developed G&C algorithms that contributed to the successful landing of the Curiosity rover in August 2012, and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, launched in 2014.
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