Rate My Professor Adrian Wills

Associate Professor Adrian Wills is the Interim Head of School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, Australia, within the College of Engineering, Science and Environment. Originating from Orange, New South Wales, as a regional student, he obtained his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) with Honours in 1999 and his PhD in 2003, both from the University of Newcastle. His career trajectory at the institution reflects a progression from doctoral studies to an established academic leader, currently overseeing the School of Engineering with a designated focus area in Mechatronics. Wills maintains an active presence in the academic community, contributing to various engineering sub-disciplines through his research and administrative roles.

Adrian Wills specializes in advanced computational methods for engineering applications, including nonlinear system identification, state-space models, sequential Monte Carlo methods, variational inference, Bayesian parameter estimation, jump Markov linear systems, extended target tracking, strain tomography using neutron and X-ray diffraction, stochastic optimization, model predictive control, and scanning-beam lithography. His scholarly impact is substantial, with 4,843 citations on Google Scholar and 4,067 citations across 154 publications on ResearchGate. Key publications include 'System identification of nonlinear state-space models' (with T.B. Schön and B. Ninness, 2011, 742 citations), 'Identification of hammerstein–wiener models' (with T.B. Schön, L. Ljung, and B. Ninness, 2013, 418 citations), 'Maximum likelihood identification of Wiener models' (with A. Hagenblad and L. Ljung, 2008, 256 citations), 'Barrier function based model predictive control' (with W.P. Heath, 2004, 213 citations), 'Linearly constrained Gaussian processes' (with C. Jidling, N. Wahlström, and T.B. Schön, 2017, 169 citations), and 'Sequential Monte Carlo: A Unified Review' (2023). In 2014, Wills and Professor Brett Ninness were awarded an Automatica journal prize paper award at the International Federation of Automatic Control World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. His contributions extend to software development, such as the University of Newcastle Identification Toolbox (UNIT).