Lucien D. Werner

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PhD Candidate, Resnick Graduate Fellow
Department of Computing & Mathematical Sciences,
California Institute of Technology
1200 E. California Blvd., MC 305-16
Pasadena, CA 91125-2100 email: lwerner [@] caltech [DOT] edu

About me

I am a mathematician interested in the theory of cyber-physical systems, which include large-scale networks like the power grid and the Internet of Things. My goals are to advance the mathematics that underlie these systems and accelerate the adoption of renewable sources that contribute to sustainable energy production. My past research has been on the dynamics of vegetation pattern formation in arid ecosystems threatened by desertification, drought, and human encroachment. I am currently pursuing a PhD in Computing & Mathematical Sciences at Caltech as a Resnick Graduate Fellow.

Outside of mathematics, I have a career as a cellist and continue to perform around the world–often with my three sisters who are all also musicians and mathematicians. Prior to joining Caltech, I received degrees in mathematics, music, and politics from Northwestern University, Harvard University, and Montana State University.

Research

My research interests include

  • Power systems, smart grid

  • Machine Learning

  • Graph algorithms

  • Renewable energy, sustainability

Publications

  1. Gandhi P, Werner L, Iams S, Gowda K, and Silber M. “A topographic mechanism for arcing of dryland vegetation bands.” Journal of The Royal Society Interface 15, no. 147 (2018): 20180508.

  2. Li T, Werner L, Low S. “Learning Graph Parameters from Linear Measurements: Fundamental Trade-offs and Application to Electric Grids.” Online Version (2019)

Presentations

  1. Werner L, Gandhi P. How terrain bends arcs: a topographic mechanism for curvature, SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems (poster presentation), May 2017

Education