(606e) Adventures in Model Predictive Control – Tales from a 30-Year Collaboration with Professor Jim Rawlings | AIChE

(606e) Adventures in Model Predictive Control – Tales from a 30-Year Collaboration with Professor Jim Rawlings

Authors 

Nearly thirty years ago I arrived at the University of Texas at Austin to begin graduate studies in chemical engineering. The true depth of my ignorance became apparent as soon as classes began. The Advanced Mathematics class, taught by Professor Rawlings, was particularly challenging. But Professor Rawlings had a way of explaining the issues with clear, simple examples that made it much easier to learn the complex concepts. I decided to take every graduate class that he was offering. Soon I was learning about H-infinity, Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian theory, Model Predictive Control, and optimal control of a hot-air balloon. This early experience as a student in Jim’s classes eventually blossomed into a long-term collaboration on MPC. In this presentation I’ll tell the story of our collaboration, with a focus on some of the challenging technical issues that we encountered along the way. I’ll end with a summary of Jim’s impact on the field and a description of key personality traits that I believe led to his success.