Pramod Khargonekar, Ph.D.

Vice Chancellor for Research, Office of Research

University of California, Irvine

Presentation Title:

Future Directions in Control in the Era of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract:

Control engineering is a field with a rich body of fundamental theoretical knowledge and a wide variety of applications ranging from aerospace to automotive to energy to manufacturing. In recent years, there have been very impressive developments in machine learning. These developments create the potential for new directions in control. In this talk, Pramod Khargonekar will first provide a high level context for the interface between machine learning and control. He will then briefly describe some of our recent work on application of machine learning to certain aerospace control problems. He will then offer some ideas for future directions in control that can benefit from ongoing and expected future advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Bio:

Pramod Khargonekar received B. Tech. Degree in electrical engineering in 1977 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, and M.S. degree in mathematics in 1980 and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering in 1981 from the University of Florida, respectively. He has been on faculty at the University of Florida, University of Minnesota, The University of Michigan, and the University of California, Irvine. He was Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 1997 to 2001 and also held the position of Claude E. Shannon Professor of Engineering Science at The University of Michigan. From 2001 to 2009, he was Dean of the College of Engineering and Eckis Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida till 2016. He also served briefly as Deputy Director of Technology at ARPA-E, U. S. Department of Energy in 2012-13. He was appointed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to serve as Assistant Director for the Directorate of Engineering (ENG) in March 2013, a position he held till June 2016. In this position, Khargonekar led the ENG Directorate with an annual budget of more than $950 million. In addition, he served as a member of the NSF senior leadership and management team and participated in setting priorities and policies. In June 2016, he assumed his current position as Vice Chancellor for Research and Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine.

Khargonekar’s research and teaching interests are centered on theory and applications of systems and control. His early work was on mathematical control theory, specifically focusing on robust control analysis and design. During the 1990’s, he was involved in a major multidisciplinary project on applications of control and estimation techniques to semiconductor manufacturing. His current research and teaching interests include systems and control theory, machine learning, and applications to smart electric grid. He has been recognized as a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher. He is a recipient of the IEEE Control Systems Award, NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the American Automatic Control Council’s Donald Eckman Award, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science fellowships, World Automation Congress Honor, the IEEE W. R. G. Baker Prize Award, the IEEE CSS George Axelby Best Paper Award, the Hugo Schuck ACC Best Paper Award, and the Distinguished Alumnus and Distinguished Service Awards from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He is a Fellow of IEEE and IFAC. At the University of Michigan, he received the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship. In the past, he has served as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, SIAM Journal of Control, Systems and Control Letters, and International J. of Robust and Nonlinear Control. He has served on numerous committees in IEEE and IFAC. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of MForesight - a manufacturing think-tank, of the Governance Board of Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII), and of the advisory board of the National Alliance for Broader Impacts (NABI). Recently, he was a member of the IEEE Smart Grid 2030 Vision committee.