Plenary Speakers

  1. Romeo Ortega, LSS-Supelec, France
    Title: New results on Euler-Lagrange (EL) and port Hamiltonian (pH) systems: State observers, robust control and synchronization
  2. Rodolphe Sepulchre, University of Liege, Belgium
    Title: Contraction analysis and port-hamiltonian modelling
  3. Joseph Winkin, University of Namur, Belgium
    Title: The Brayton-Moser Form for Power-Shaping Control 
  4. Matthew R. James, Australian National University, Australia
    Title: Perspectives on Quantum Feedback Control

Romeo Ortega, LSS-Supelec, France

Title: New results on Euler-Lagrange (EL) and port Hamiltonian (pH) systems: State observers, robust control and synchronization

Abstract: In this talk we review some recent results on control of EL and pH systems. Including (i) globally convergent speed observers for mechanical systems with non-holonomic constraints; (ii) design of robust (integral action) controllers to reject (or attenuate the effect of) external disturbances; (iii) robustification via networking of energy shaping controllers; (iv) synchronization of distinct agents with communication delays and uncertain parameters.

CV: Romeo Ortega was born in Mexico. He obtained his BSc in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Mexico, Master of Engineering from Polytechnical Institute of Leningrad, USSR, and the Docteur D`Etat from the Politechnical Institute of Grenoble, France in 1974, 1978 and 1984 respectively.

He then joined the National University of Mexico, where he worked until 1989. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois in 1987-88 and at the McGill University in 1991-1992, and a Fellow of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science in 1990-1991. He has been a member of the French National Researcher Council (CNRS) since June 1992. Currently he is in the Laboratoire de Signaux et Systemes (SUPELEC) in Paris. His research interests are in the fields of nonlinear and adaptive control, with special emphasis on applications.

Dr. Ortega has published three books and more than 200 scientific papers in international journals, with an h-index of 51. He has supervised more than 30 PhD thesis. He is a Fellow Member of the IEEE since 1999 and has served as chairman in several IFAC and IEEE committees and editorial boards.


Rodolphe Sepulchre, University of Liege, Belgium

Title: Contraction analysis and port-hamiltonian modeling

Abstract: This talk will focus on the concept of contraction in the context of port-hamiltonian control systems. Motivated and driven by ten years of collaboration with Schneider-Toshiba on control of induction motors and power electronics, we will illustrate the relevance of this framework to rigorously address two pillars of industrial control: PI feedback and anti windup. After 40 years of dissipativity theory, physics keeps providing efficient encounters between control, analysis, and differential geometry.

CV: Rodolphe Sepulchre is professor in the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Liege, Belgium. He served as department chair from 2009 to 2011. His research interests are in dynamics, control and optimization of nonlinear problems.

He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Systems and Control Letters and an Associate Editor for SIAM Journal of Control and Optimization, the Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Mathematics for Control, Signals, and Systems. In 2008, he was awarded the IEEE Control Systems Society Antonio Ruberti Young Researcher Prize. He is an IEEE fellow and an IEEE CSS distinguished lecturer since 2010.


Joseph Winkin, University of Namur, Belgium

Title: The Brayton-Moser Form for Power-Shaping Control

Abstract: Power-shaping control is a control design method which can be seen as an extension of energy-balancing passivity-based control. This control scheme is characterized by the fact that stabilization is achieved by shaping a function that is related to power instead of energy. One of the most difficult parts in achieving such a control design is the derivation of a specific form of the dynamics, namely the Brayton-Moser form, on which Power-shaping control is based. More specifically the latter involves the solution of a partial differential equation (PDE) system together with an additional sign constraint.

This talk will include a brief tutorial on the Brayton-Moser Form for Power Shaping Control, a short survey of the literature and some examples illustrating the wide applicability of this control design method. In addition, a general methodology will be described for solving the PDE system that is needed for getting the Brayton-Moser form. The solution set of this PDE system can be characterized in terms of the solutions of a related system of algebraic linear equations. A necessary condition will also be reported that guarantees the existence of a solution to the algebraic linear system which satisfies the sign condition. The methodology will be illustrated by an example of a chemical reactor where the physical knowledge of the system is used to find a suitable solution.

CV: Joseph J. Winkin is professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Namur, Belgium. He is also member of the Namur Center for Complex Systems (naXys), FUNDP, Namur, Belgium, and of the Center for Systems Engineering and Applied Mechanics (CESAME), UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. His main research interest is in the area of system and control theory, especially distributed parameter (infinite-dimensional) system theory and applications, linear-quadratic optimal control, spectral factorization techniques and dynamical analysis and control of (bio)chemical reactor models. He has also research interest in nonlinear system analysis and control.

J. Winkin has contributed to numerous technical papers in these fields. He is member of the IEEE and IFAC Technical Committees on Distributed Parameter Systems. He is also member of IEEE, IBRA (Institut Royal Belge de Régulation et d’Automatisme), BMS (Belgian Mathematical Society) and EMS (European Mathematical Society), and serves as a reviewer for several journals in the system and control area. He is an associate editor of the Journal Européen des Systèmes Automatisés and a past associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.



Matthew R. James, Australian National University, Australia

Title: Perspectives on Quantum Feedback Control

Abstract: Recent theoretical and experimental advances mean that it is now possible to control physical systems at the quantum level. Indeed, developments in quantum technology provide strong motivation for the feedback control of quantum systems. This talk will give some perspectives on quantum feedback control, including both measurement feedback as well as fully quantum coherent feedback control. In particular, we contrast and compare open loop and closed loop quantum control, and describe some of the significant research challenges.

CV: Matthew R. James’ research interests include quantum feedback control, nonlinear robust control, and stochastic control. He received the B.Sc. degree in mathematics and the B.E. (Hon. I) in electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, in 1981 and 1983, respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, in 1988. In 1988/1989 he was Visiting Assistant Professor with the Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, Providence, USA, and from 1989 to 1991 he was Assistant Professor with the Department of Mathematics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA. In 1991 he joined the Australian National University, Australia, where he served as Head of the Department of Engineering during 2001 and 2002. He has held visiting positions with the University of California, San Diego, Imperial College, London, and University of Cambridge. James is a co-recipient (with L. Bouten and R. Van Handel) of the SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization Best Paper Prize for 2007. He is currently serving as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, and has previously served SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, Automatica, and Mathematics of Control, Signals, and Systems. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, and he held an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellowship during 2004-2008.