Yifan Cai

Since November 2023, I am a PhD student at Politecnico di Milano as part of the COMPASS group. My academic background includes a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Beijing Institute of Technology in China. In my master thesis, I investigated high-dimensional optimization problems for observation resource allocation.

My current PhD research focuses on allocating space-based sensors, especially for emergency response tasks. I’m exploiting advanced optimization techniques to address challenges in sensor tasking. In addition, I am also investigating sustainability metrics to measure the environmental impact of missions in space.

Current research within COMPASS

  • High-dimensional multi-objective optimization techniques for sensor tasking
  • High-dimensional multi-constraint optimization technology for sensor emergency response
  • Sustainability index to measure the impact of a mission on the space environment.