Ali Mohamed Ali

Ph.D. Candidate | Lecturer

Ph.D. Candidate and Part-Time Lecturer I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University, defending my thesis in Fall 2026. I am also a part-time lecturer in the School of Advanced Technology at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada.

Ali Mohamed Ali

About Me

Research Focus

My research focuses on integrating control theory and artificial intelligence to create robotic platforms that demonstrate robust, real-time embodied intelligence.

Current Positions

  • Ph.D. Candidate - Carleton University
  • Part-Time Lecturer - Algonquin College, School of Advanced Technology

Research Journey

Present

Doctoral Studies at Carleton University

Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

I focused in my Ph.D. on using control theory to enhance the autonomy and safety of platforms such as quadrotors, unicycle robots, and multi-robot mobile manipulators. See the figures below. I worked on designing nonlinear feedback control laws with minimum sensing requirements for quadrotors. Moreover, I worked on converting the obstacle-avoidance problem to a QPQC within the MPC framework. This requires lower computational complexity for real-time implementation. I also worked within the reinforcement learning framework to solve the resource allocation problem for a set of robotic manipulators. Finally, I proposed a sim-to-real reinforcement learning framework for docking operations for quadrotors.

2022

Master's in Control Engineering

Università di Sapienza, Rome, Italy

Italy good old time. I did my Master of Science in Control Engineering in the Department of Computer Engineering at Università di Sapienza, Rome, Italy. I will always be grateful for the training I received during my master’s, where I was exposed to control theory and AI. Professors Salvatore Monaco, Alberto Isidori, Alessandro De Luca, and Stefano Battilotti shaped my mind through their lectures.

2019

Foundation in Egypt

Alexandria University, Egypt

I did my Bachelor and M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering at Alexandria University. This period can be summarized by my activities in participating in drone competitions and the SAE AeroDesign competition in the USA in 2016 and 2017. We were able to achieve ranks 22 and 9 out of 35 teams, competing against top universities in North America and Europe such as Georgia Tech and Texas A&M University, despite the lack of funding and guidance. I worked in the conceptual design of the drone, where I came to understand the role of stability and dynamics in the overall design. This inspired me to learn more about autopilots and led me to pursue a master’s in a similar field with a computer engineering background. I also served for three years in the Egyptian Armed Forces in the Armored Division as a First Lieutenant and technical officer. After finishing my military service, this phase ended, and I traveled to Italy afterward.

Publications

Journal

A Linear MPC with Control Barrier Functions for Differential Drive Robots

Ali Mohamed Ali, Hashim A Hashim, Chao Shen

IET Control Theory & Applications, 2024

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Journal

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Sim-to-Real Policy Transfer of VTOL-UAVs Offshore Docking Operations

Ali Mohamed Ali, A. Gupta, H. A. Hashim

Applied Soft Computing, 2024

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Journal

Novel Hybrid Integrated Pix2Pix and WGAN Model with Gradient Penalty for Binary Images Denoising

L. Tirel, Ali Mohamed Ali, H. A. Hashim

Systems and Soft Computing, 2024

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Journal

Synergistic use of inertial actuators for advanced noise control in transparent-patched vibrating plates

Khaled Said Ahmed Maamoun, Alkahf Aboutiman, Ali Mohamed Ali

Measurement, Elsevier, 2025

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Journal

Novel multi-agent action masked deep reinforcement learning for general industrial assembly lines balancing problems

Ali Mohamed Ali, Luca Tirel, Hashim A Hashim

Journal of Automation and Intelligence, Elsevier, 2025

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Conference

Action Masked Deep Reinforcement learning for Controlling Industrial Assembly Lines

Ali Mohamed Ali, Luca Tirel

2023 IEEE World AI IoT Congress (AIIoT), Seattle, WA, USA

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Conference

MPC Based Linear Equivalence with Control Barrier Functions for VTOL-UAVs

Ali Mohamed Ali, Hashim A Hashim, Chao Shen

2024 IEEE American Control Conference (ACC), Toronto, Canada

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Conference

A Unified Finite-Time Sliding Mode Quaternion-based Tracking Control for Quadrotor UAVs without Time Scale Separation

Ali Mohamed Ali, Hashim A Hashim, Awantha Jayasiri

2025 IEEE American Control Conference (ACC), Denver, USA

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Teaching

Algonquin College (Lecturer)

  • CST8059 - Reinforcement Learning

    Teaching core concepts of RL, policy optimization, and practical applications

  • ENG8344 - Control Systems

    Covering classical and modern control theory with hands-on projects

  • CST8504 - Applying AI Techniques

    Practical application of AI methods to real-world problems

Carleton University (Teaching Assistant)

  • MAAE2001 - Engineering Graphical Design
  • ECOR1047 - Dynamics
  • MAAE3500 - Feedback Control Systems
  • MAAE4904 - Machine Learning: Theory and Application

Student Mentorship

Aryaman Gupta - Summer Intern, 2023 LinkedIn

Professional Experience

Lecturer

Algonquin College

May 2025 - Present | Ottawa, Canada

Teaching in the Artificial Intelligence Software Development program, focusing on Reinforcement Learning, Control Systems, and AI Techniques.

Machine Learning Engineer

Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada

January 2024 - April 2024

FSWEP program participant developing ML solutions for government applications.

First Lieutenant Engineer

Egyptian Armored Division

October 2016 - October 2019

Responsible for designing and manufacturing spare parts for armored vehicles.

Editorial Work & Peer Review

Active reviewer for flagship conferences and journals in robotics and control:

  • IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
  • IEEE American Control Conference (ACC)
  • IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)
  • IET Control Theory & Applications
  • Drone Systems and Applications
  • Applied Soft Computing