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About

Eric Forgoston is a leading researcher at the intersection of nonlinear dynamics, fluid mechanics, and robotics. His primary contributions lie in developing novel strategies for the robotic tracking of Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS)—the hidden “skeletons” of time-dependent flows that separate dynamically distinct regions. By pioneering collaborative, multi-robot control algorithms that require no global information, Forgoston has enabled autonomous systems to locate and follow stable and unstable manifolds in complex, ocean-like environments. His work has direct applications in oceanography, weather prediction, and environmental monitoring, where tracking these structures is critical for understanding transport and mixing. Among his most influential publications, his 2014 paper “Robotic Tracking of Coherent Structures in Flows” has garnered 49 citations, while his 2012 work on robotic manifold tracking has been cited 30 times. He has also validated his theoretical approaches experimentally, building a laboratory testbed that produces controllable, gyre-like flows to test multi-robot tracking strategies. Forgoston’s research elegantly bridges theory and practice, offering powerful tools for autonomous exploration of dynamic, real-world fluid environments.