In this talk, Prof. Max will begin with a broad overview of current and recent research initiatives within the Laboratory for Air Transportation, Infrastructure, and Connected Environments (LATTICE) at the University of Michigan. The presentation will then delve into two research projects in greater technical depth. The first project addresses distributional uncertainty in strategic air traffic management, particularly in airport ground delay programs. By incorporating robust machine learning predictions of airport capacities, this approach reduces the cost of delays even under overly optimistic forecasts. The second project explores congestion management frameworks for Urban/Advanced Air Mobility (UAM/AAM). It proposes a bi-level optimization strategy that operates within a coordinated architecture of fleet operators, airspace service providers, and central traffic control authorities, offering insights into future scalable traffic systems.

Max Li is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with courtesy appointments in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Industrial and Operations Engineering. He earned his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from MIT in 2021 and holds MSE and BSE degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

His research spans air transportation systems, airport and airline operations, Advanced Air Mobility, and networked systems, with a strong methodological foundation in optimization and control. He is also the director of the LATTICE lab, where interdisciplinary insights drive innovation for the future of air mobility.