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UCSB “Network Systems”
ME/ECE 269, Spring 2026
Instructor: Francesco Bullo
This is the website for the UCSB course ME/ECE 269 “Network Systems”,
Spring 2026. This website's URL is
http://motion.me.ucsb.edu/ME269-Spring2026.
Offical Description
Motivating socio/economic networks, power grids, multi-agent robotics.
Perron-Frobenius matrix theory and algebraic graph theory.
Fundamental dynamics in networks: averaging dynamics in discrete and
continuous time; positive and compartmental systems; coupled
oscillator systems; virus propagation models; population dynamic
models; robotic coordination problems.
The course is intended primarily for graduate
students interested in network science, dynamics over networks,
cooperative and distributed control, distributed systems, and
distributed algorithms. Topics will include: (1) Perron Frobenius
theory, (2) graph theory and algebraic graph theory, (3) basic network
models such as averaging dynamics in discrete and continuous time,
compartmental flow and positive systems, (4) stability theory for
nonlinear systems, (5) Lotka-Volterra population dynamics, virus
propagation dynamics, and coupled-oscillators dynamics, (6) examples
are drawn from socio-economic networks, power grids, robotics.
Prerequisites
Competency in linear algebra, nonlinear dynamical systems and linear control systems.
Textbook
The main source is:
Lectures on Network Systems version 1.7, Apr 1, 2024, by Francesco Bullo.
The textbook is available at https://fbullo.github.io/lns/
You are welcome to download the textbook in standard format as well as
in slide format.
Lecture Time and Place
The official course lecture time and place are:
Nomilally, we have 2 lectures per week for 10 weeks.
However:
per campus calendar, lecture is canceled on Monday May 25th for Memorial day
unfortunately, I have business trips on
Wed Apr 15, week 3 (nominally 6th lecture),
Wed May 20, week 8 (nominally 16th lecture), and
Wed May 27, week 9 (nominally 18th lecture).
Hence, I would like to schedule three additional lectures to make up for my trips. The precise timing will be discussed in class.
Course Credit
Units: 4 for graduate students taking ME/ECE269
Instructor
Professor Francesco Bullo
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Email: bullo-at-ucsb.edu
Website: https://fbullo.github.io
Office Hours
Place: Professor Bullo
Time: Tuesdays 4pm-5pm
If you have any questions about the course, please send me email. I will
try to respond as quickly as possible. Additionally, I will share
questions that are particularly good (and their answers) with the rest of
the class by broadcasting my answer to the entire class.
If you come to office hours with questions about homework, please be
prepared to show attempts at solving the problem prepared before coming.
Grading
Class grade will be determined by:
In exceptional cases, I reserve the right to give extra points for
excellent performance on the final report and presentation. Please, do not
count on it as a way to avoid doing homework assignments.
Homework Self-Grading Scheme
Homework is due one week after the corresponding chapter is fully covered in class; precise deadlines will be announced in class.
Please write one exercise per page and write clearly for partial credit.
To turn in the homework, please scan solutions in a single PDF file
and email me the file by the deadline.
After the homework deadline, I will email you the solutions (after which
no late homework will be accepted).
I will ask you to please self-grade your homework and
email to me both: (1) the marked homework in PDF form, and (2) the grade.
Please self-grade within a week of receiving the solutions.
Each exercise in each homework assignment is worth 10 points, unless otherwise marked.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINAL PRESENTATIONS AND REPORT
Last but not least, here is the document entitled
Instructions for Final Presentations and Reports.
Instructions on the report and presentation will be discussed in class.
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