Alessandro Papadopoulos, Professor
I am a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Mälardalen University (MDU), with a focus on automatic control and robotics in complex real-time embedded systems. Additionally, I hold the prestigious position of QUALIFICA Fellow at the Institute for Software Technology and Software Engineering (ITIS) at the University of Málaga. My research endeavors are centered on the modeling and control of interconnected systems in the presence of uncertainty, with a particular focus on leveraging control theory for the design and implementation of computing systems. This work is primarily conducted within the realms of embedded and distributed systems.
In 2024, I assumed the role of Scientific Leader for Applied AI as part of the AI@MDU initiative, steering the integration of artificial intelligence in practical applications.
I received my BSc (2008) and my MSc (2010) in Computer Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, and my Ph.D. (2014) in Information Technology, Systems and Control from the same institution. Post-Ph.D., I embarked on a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Automatic Control at Lund University , contributing to the Lund Center for Control of Complex Engineering Systems (LCCC). I further enhanced my research expertise as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria at the Politecnico di Milano.
Currently, I lead the Complex Real-Time Embedded Systems (CORE) research group alongside Prof. Thomas Nolte. My research intersects control and computer engineering, with a nuanced focus on addressing challenges in real-time, embedded, and distributed systems, including cloud and edge computing applications.
In recognition of my innovative research, I was honored with a VR starting grant in 2020 to explore control and distributed optimization strategies for complex and pervasive computing systems. That same year, I received the SSF strategic mobility grant, fostering a collaboration with ABB industrial automation to pioneer next-generation automation systems.
For additional information about my research, academic endeavors, and professional accomplishments, please visit my webpage.
Keywords: Control Theory, Feedback Computing, Fog Computing, Cloud Computing, Real-time and embedded systems
News
Scientific Leader of Applied AI
Read more about my SSF Strategic Mobility project on Framtidens Forskning (Jun 2022)
Granted project FuturAS: Future Generation Automation Systems (SSF) (Dec 2020)
Granted project PSI: Pervasive Self-Optimizing Computing Infrastructures (VR) (Oct 2020)
PhD defense of Mirgita Frasheri on June 12, 2020
Granted project GREENER: Intelligent energy management in connected construction sites (VINNOVA FFI)
Read my IEEE Software blog post
- Granted project FIESTA: Federated Choreography of an Integrated Embedded Systems Software Architecture (KK-stiftelsen Synergy)
- Granted project SACSys: Safe and Secure Adaptive Collaborative Systems (KK-stiftelsen Synergy)
- Awarded with the Ericsson Research Foundation Grant 2019
- Elevated to the grade of IEEE Senior Member
- Invited Speaker for the round table on "Automatica beyond engineering" at Automatica.it (SIDRA) - Video available here
My research topics include the application of control theory to the design and implementation of computing systems, especially in the context of real-time and cloud computing systems. In addition, I am also interested in modeling and control of interconnected systems in presence of uncertainty.
I am particularly interested in autonomic and self-adaptive systems, in different areas of computer science and software engineering.
Learn more about my research here.
Selected conference presentations
ICSE 2020: Details
SEAMS 2020: Details
CASTOR days 2022
Optimal reference tracking with arbitrary sampling (Jul 2025) Jacob Higgins , Alessandro Papadopoulos, Enrico Bini , Nicola Bezzo Automatica 2025 (Automatica)
Control Period Adaptation for Resource-Constrained MPC Applications (Jun 2025) Marcello Domenighini, Paolo Pazzaglia , Christoph Mark , Kevin Schmidt , Laura Beermann , Alessandro Papadopoulos 23rd European Control Conference (ECC) (ECC2025)
FedSecure: A Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning Algorithm (Jun 2025) Mojtaba Kaheni, Martina Lippi , Andrea Gasparri , Alessandro Papadopoulos 23rd European Control Conference (ECC) (ECC2025)
Nip It In The Bud: Job Acceptance Multi-Server (May 2025) Anna Friebe, Tommaso Cucinotta , Filip Markovic, Alessandro Papadopoulos, Thomas Nolte 31st IEEE Real-Time and Embedded Technology and Applications Symposium (RTAS 2025)
DCGUARD: A Holistic Approach for Detecting and Isolating Malicious Nodes in Cloud Data Centers (Feb 2025) Wassim Itani , Maha Shamseddine , Auday Al-Dulaimy, Thomas Nolte, Alessandro Papadopoulos IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing (TDSC 2025)
Reducing Pessimism in Response Time Analysis of AVB Traffic in TSN (Jan 2025) Daniel Bujosa Mateu, Julián Proenza , Alessandro Papadopoulos, Thomas Nolte, Mohammad Ashjaei
Branko Miloradovic (former)
Mirgita Frasheri (former)
Niklas Persson
Anders Lager
Anna Friebe
Bjarne Johansson
Daniel Bujosa Mateu (former)
Hamid Reza Faragardi (former)
Mahdi Momeni Kelageri
Shaik Salman (former)
Sheela Hariharan
Václav Struhár