| Draft Submission Deadline | Closed |
| Acceptance/ Rejection Notification | Closed |
| Final Submission Deadline | Closed |
Special Sessions are outside the traditional technical program of the conference, and aside from a brief description of the session, the papers will not be peer-reviewed or be included in the conference Proceedings. Such special sessions offer an excellent venue for creating awareness of, and providing exposure to emerging research areas and other topics of broad interest to the conference attendees.
(For Sponsored Industry Sessions, please see the sponsors page.)
From Operations to
Finance: Opportunities for Control Theory and Application
Time: Wednesday, June 30, 6:15 - 7:45 pm
Location: Grand Ballroom Salon II
Chair: James A. Primbs, Stanford University,
[email protected]
Co-Chair: Donald J. Chmielewski, Illinois Institute of Technology,
[email protected]
Presentations:
Inventory Control and LQG: Connections and Extensions,
Donald J. Chmielewski, Illinois Institute of Technology
Controlling Processes for Financial Return,
Jeffrey C. Kantor, University of Notre Dame
Control Systems Methods in Finance: Modeling and Optimal Trading,
James A. Primbs, Stanford University
Abstract: The rapid evolution of quantitative finance has dramatically altered practice on Wall Street, in financial firms, and in the commodity and energy industries exposed to volatile markets. Underpinning this development are analytical tools familiar to control engineers, such as linear stochastic control, dynamic programming, and model identification. These tools are routinely used to analyze and manage large investment portfolios, and to manage risk in the commodity industries. The purpose of the special session is to provide examples of research opportunities in financial applications for those with control systems expertise. The presenters will show examples of where control theory can contribute to operations and finance, including inventory control, portfolio optimization, risk management, and hedging. We will also show how financial engineering principles can be applied to commodity processes to yield strategies for the joint operation of process and financial operations. The interfaces between control theory and finance, and between finance and operations offers intrinsically interesting and potentially rewarding applications for control engineering.
Flight Dynamics and Control in Dipteran Insects with Applications to Aerial MicroroboticsOrganizer: Sean Humbert, University of Maryland, [email protected]
Abstract: Successful realization of insect-based aerial microrobotic vehicles faces significant challenges due to fast dynamics, small payload capacities, and the absence of a quantitative reduced-order description of the unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms that provide locomotive capability. The stringent size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints render traditional sensing, processing, and feedback paradigms unusable. Insect nervous systems, which function under similar constraints, offer a promising alternative. In these small organisms, spatially distributed arrays of simple sensors that collect localized measurements are pooled and processed in parallel by sensory interneurons that converge onto relatively small numbers of motor neurons responsible for controlling locomotion. In addition to this unique approach for rapid extraction of information for stability augmentation and navigation, behavioral analysis and measurements from high speed videography indicate that insects leverage passive aerodynamic mechanisms attendant to flapping motions to further minimize sensing and feedback requirements. Presentations in this session will address (a) a control- and information-theoretic framework in which to analyze the advantages of this unique sensorimotor architecture; (b) reduced order models of flapping flight dynamics and analysis of high speed videography of gust response to understand the passive aerodynamic stability properties; and (c) MEMS and analog VLSI implementations of insect-inspired sensors and the development of a 10g flapping micro air vehicle.
Opportunities for Funding from the Department of Defense
Presentations:
Fariba Fahroo, Dynamics and Control program, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Marc Steinberg, Autonomous Systems, Office of Naval Research
Purush Iyer, Software and Intelligent Systems, Army Research Office
Discussion on Control Resources, Publications, and Control Textbooks at Undergraduate and Graduate Levels
Time: Thursday July 1, 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: Waterview C&D
Organizer: Bozana Pasik-Duncan, University of Kansas
Sponsors: IEEE CSS and AACC Technical Committee on Control Education
IFAC Technical Committee on Control Education
Abstract: Call for Control Resources Publications and Call for Nominations for the IFAC Harold Chestnut Control Engineering Textbook Prize will be discussed. Harold Chestnut's contributions to control education will be presented.
New Energy Systems and Sustainable
Processes: Emerging Opportunities for Systems and Control Research
Time: Thursday July 1, 6:15 - 7:45 pm
Location: Grand Ballroom Salon VIII
Organizers: Prodromos
Daoutidis, University of Minnesota, [email protected]
and Michael Baldea, Praxair, [email protected]
Chair: Aditya Kumar, GE Global Research, [email protected]
Co-chair: Sven Tobias Junker, United Technologies Research Center,
[email protected]
Presentations:
Control of Stationary And Mobile Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems - A UTRC - Perspective on Current Status and Future Directions,
Sven Tobias Junker, United Technologies Research Center
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle - Opportunities for Integrated Sensing and Control,
Aditya Kumar, GE Global Research
Fuels and Chemicals from Renewable Resources: New Processes, New
Research Opportunities, Prodromos Daoutidis, University of Minnesota
Abstract: The development of new, clean and efficient systems for power generation, and the development of technologies for the production of fuels and chemicals from renewable resources are major factors towards mitigating the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the environmental impact of their consumption, and meeting the energy and environmental challenges of our times. This session aims to provide a platform for presenting and discussing new research opportunities in systems and control, motivated by emerging, efficient technologies for the production of power, fuels and chemicals. Three focal areas have been chosen; the first is solid oxide fuels cells, which represent a growing technology for various stationary and mobile power generation applications; the second concerns integrated coal gasification units, which also show promise as highly efficient power generation processes; the final area concerns the emerging concept of biorefinery, which mimics the operation of traditional refineries but relies on renewable resources. The talks combine both industrial and academic perspectives and aim to reach a diverse audience of industrial practitioners and academic researchers. The session will have three talks, followed by a discussion with the session audience and the panel of presenters.
Opportunities for Funding at NSF and NIH
Time: Thursday July 1, 6:15 - 8:15 pm
Location:
Grand Ballroom Salon II
