Contact details Dr. Victor M. Becerra School of Systems Engineering University of Reading Reading RG6 6AY United Kingdom Tel: +44-(0) 1183786703 Fax:+44-(0) 1183788220 Email: v.m.becerra@reading.ac.uk

Victor M Becerra

Career Summary

• Reader in Cybernetics,  School of Systems Engineering,  University of Reading, Reading, UK (from 2007)
• Senior Lecturer, School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading, Reading, UK (2005-2007)
• Lecturer, School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading, Reading, UK (2000-2005)
• Associate Lecturer, The Open University, UK (2000-2005)
• Research Fellow, City University, London, UK (1994-1999)
• Electrical Engineer (power systems analysis),  CVG Edelca, Caracas, Venezuela (1989-1991),

Education

• PhD Control Engineering, City University, London, UK (1991-1994) [thesis in PDF format]
  
• MSc Financial Management, Middlesex University, London, UK (1999-2001)
• BEng (Cum Laude) Electrical Engineering, Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela (1984-1990)

Research Interests

Over the years, I have gained wide experience in automatic control. I have been forturnate to be able to participate and contribute in the various stages of the development of control techniques, from the conceptual development of algorithms and models, to their real time implementation in laboratory and industrial applications. My research has covered many areas in automatic control, including optimal control, predictive control, nonlinear systems, state estimation, system identification, adaptive control, neural network based control, and fuzzy control. My work has encompassed various application areas, including power systems, chemical processes, electromechanical systems, robotics, autonomous systems, and aerospace.

I have been involved in several funded research and technology transfer projects, and I have been fortunate to collaborate with many colleagues from the UK and beyond both in pursuing research grants, and in managing the projects once they have started.

I am the author of PSOPT, an open source C++ software package implementing direct methods for computational optimal control.

Funding

A summary of funded projects is given below. 

• TSBE Engineering Doctorate Grant (EPSRC Funded) with Thales Research UK Ltd (£90k). Evolutionary methods for sensor fusion in envorimental applications.  Main academic supervisor (in collaboration with Prof. Warwick from the School of Systems Engineering). (2011-2015)..
• TSBE Engineering Doctorate Grant (EPSRC Funded) with @UK plc. Use of artificial intelligence in product carbon footprinting (£90k). Main academic supervisor (in collaboration with Dr. Slawomir Nasuto from the School of Systems Engineering). (2011-2015).
  
• Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Secondment Grant, for collaboration with the Powertrain Department at Ford Technical Centre at Dunton, Essex (£20k + travel expenses). (2011 - 2012)
  
• TSBE Engineering Doctorate Grant (EPSRC Funded) with CRESS Ltd and the Port of Felixstowe. Energy recovery from container cranes (£90k). Main academic supervisor (collaborating with Dr. William Holderbaum from the School of Systems Engineering). (2010- 2014).
  
• TSBE Engineering Doctorate Grant (EPSRC Funded) with Southern and Scottish Energy. Optimization of zero carbon homes (£90k). Second academic supervisor (in collaboration with Dr. Runming Yao, from the School of Construction Management). (2009-2013).
  
• Short Knowledge Transfer Partnership 1000331 with TRL Ltd (Transport Research Laboratory). Principal Investigator, £14k (2010).
  
• EPSRC: EP/D080134/1 Investigating the computational capacity of cultured neuronal networks. Co-investigator, £435k (2007-2010).
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership 6902 with GDS Instruments Ltd. Introduction of nonlinear and adaptive control techniques into soil testing equipment. Principal investigator, £151 k (2008-2011).
  
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership 1554 with @UK Plc. Development of a product aware search engine. Academic supervisor, £150k (2006-2009).
  
• EU Framework 6: Autonomous collaborative robots for everyday environments. Co-investigator, £238k (2006-2009).
  
• Research Endownment Trust Fund. Use of observability and controllability measures in the determination of an optimal control structure for a multi-link inverted pendulum. Co-investigator. £45k. (2008-2011).
  
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership 439 with Merris Development Engineers Ltd. Development of an automated paint tinting system. Principal investigator, £118k (2004-2007)
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership 433 with Applied Weighing International Ltd. Development of high speed weighing systems for conveyor and vehicle weighing applications. Academic supervisor, £107k (2004-2007)
• European Space Agency (Ariadna Contract No. 18138/4101): Advanced optimization tools for mission analysis and design. Principal investigator, £25k.
• European Space Agency (Ariadna Contract No. AO04/4104): Towards invariant relative satellite motion. Principal investigator, £20k.
• European Space Agency (Ariadna Contract No. 06/4101): Pruning the search space when considering deep space maneouvres. Principal investigator. In collaboration with the University of Glasgow, £25k.
• EPSRC GR/R6419301: Predictive control of nonlinear systems using feedback linearization. Principal investigator, £54k (2001-2004).
• EPSRC EP/D061490/1: Exploratory Workshop in cognitive robotics and control. Co-investigator. £14k (2006)
• UK based company: Development of control strategies for a model aircraft. Co-investigator. £51k (2002-2004).
• Research Endownment Trust Fund. Automatic tuning of PID controllers using neural networks. Principal investigator. £30k. (2000-2003).
• EPSRC MTP (Masters Training Package) Cybernetics, £152k (2005-2009).
  

Research Fellowships

• EPSRC GR/J73452/01. Implementation of nonlinear optimal process control with model-reality differences. City University, London. £130k (1994-1997).
• EPSRC GR/L64478/01. Dynamic data reconciliation using sequential modular models and its application to real time model tuning. City University, London. £204k (1997-1999)

Research Student Supervision

Current students:

• Andrew Hood (current EngD student, jointly supervised with Prof Kevin Warwick). Evolutionary methods for sensor fusion in environmental applications.
  
• Anthony Barnett (current EngD student, jointly supervised with Dr. Slawomir Nasuto). Use of artificial intelligence in product carbon footprinting.
• Mohamad Alkowatly (current PhD student, jointly supervised with Dr. William Holderbaum). Bio-inspired control of unmanned aerial vehicles.
  
• Thomas Milthorp (current PhD student, jointly supervised with Dr. William Holderbaum): Introduction of nonlinear and adaptive control into soil testing equipment.
• Christopher Knight (current EngD student, jointly supervised with Dr. William Holderbaum). Energy recovery from container cranes.
• Kim Cave-Ayland (current PhD student, jointly supervised with Dr. Ali Shrisavar and Dr. Ben Potter). Digital control of power converters.
• Khalid Alzahran (current PhD student, jointly supervised with Dr. William Holderbaum). Nonlinear control of unmanned aerial vehicles.
• Chris Bowden (current student, jointly supervised with Dr. William Holderbaum):   Use of observability and controllability measures in the determination of an optimal control structure for a multi-link inverted pendulum
• Robert Burzynski (current EngD student, joinly supervised with Dr. Runming Yao). Optimization of zero carbon homes.
• Mirsha Trujillo (current PhD student, jointly supervised with Dr. Sillas Hadjiloucas). Robust control in feedback substitution.
  

Completed

• Martin Ongkosutjahjo (completed PhD in 2009): Nonlinear sliding mode observers with stochastic considerations. Currently with Kangean Energy Indonesia Ltd .
  
• Jyoti Krishen (completed PhD in 2008, currently at Reading College): Fuzzy control of underactuated mechanical systems
• Guillermina Martinez (completed PhD in 2005, currently at UK Debt Management Office): Biped robot balancing using optic flow
  
• Jiamei Deng (completed PhD in 2005, currently at Kingson University): Predictive control using feedback linearisation and dynamic neural networks.
  
• Kandasamy Pirabakaran (completed PhD in 2004, currently at Ricardo plc):Automatic tuning of PID controllers using neural networks.
• Nasser Alevi-Naeini (completed PhD in 2003, jointly supervised with Prof Kevin Warwick). Expert system for pistachio quality control.
  
• Pedro Silva (completed PhD in 2011, currently with ISEL, Lisbon, Portugal): Fault tolerant predictive control using a multi-model approach
• Matthew Brown (completed PhD in 2011, jointly supervised with Dr. Slawomir Nasuto, currently with @UK plc): Automatic production of property structure from natural language.

I welcome enquiries from potential research students who would like to discuss possibilities for doing research under my supervision. Further information about postgraduate research at the School of Systems Engineering can be found through this link.

Visiting Positions

• Visiting Fellow, City University, London (2001-2003).
• Visiting PhD supervisor. Technical University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (2001-2004)
• Visiting Scholar, Institute of Aeronautics, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2006 and 2009).
  

Publications

I have published over one hundred external papers and one book. Please follow this link to view  my list of publications.

Information about Strategies for Feedback Linearisation, a book published in 2003 by Springer and co-authored by F. Garces, V.M. Becerra, C. Kambhampati and K. Warwick can be found here.

Teaching

I have over 15 years of experience teaching automatic control at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I currently teach the following modules:

• Advanced Control (CY4A2)

• System Identification and Control (SE3SI11)
  

Information about student projects, including some videos, can be found here.

Invited Seminars and Plenaries

• Seminar: "A search for invariant relative satellite motion".  Centre for Complex Autonomous Systems Engineering, University of Southampton, January 2012.
  
• Seminar: "Robot control using living neuronal cells: progress and challenges", Whitehead Lecture Series, Department of Computing, Goldsmiths College, University of London, March 2011.
  
• Seminar: "Control of robot manipulators using neural networks with online learning". University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain, March 2010.
  
• Seminar: "Friction Modelling and Compensation". ISEL-Lisbon Polytechnic, December 2009.
  
• Seminar: "Pseudospectral optimal control: fundamentals and applications". Institute of Aeronautics, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2009.
• Plenary: "Intelligent control at Reading". Symposium on Intelligent Control, Bilbao, Spain, 2009.
• Industrial seminar: "Friction modelling and compensation". Schlumberger, Stonehouse, UK, 2009.
• Semi-plenary: "Global opimisation and search space pruning in spacecraft trajectory design". IEEE Colloquium on Optimisation for Control, Sheeld,UK, 2006.
• Seminar: "Research in cybernetics and control at the University of Reading". Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2006.
• Seminar: "Feedback linearization using dynamic neural network models". ISEL-Lisbon Polytechnic. Mechanical Engineering Department, 2004.
• Seminar: "Nonlinear system identification and feedback linearisation using dynamic neural networks". Industrial Control Technology Club meeting, Glasgow, 2004.
• Industrial seminar: "Moving horizon estimation". Aspentech UK Ltd, Cambridge, 2002.
• Seminar: "Nonlinear system identification using neural networks: architectural, training and validation aspects". ISEL-Lisbon Polytechnic. Mechanical Engineering Department, 2001.
• Seminar: "Financial distress classification using neural networks". The University of Hull. Computer Science Department, 2001.
• Seminar: "Nonlinear predictive control". Industrial Control Technology Club Meeting. The University of Oxford, Engineering Department, 2000. 
• Seminar: "An introduction to adaptive control". ISEL-Lisbon Polytechnic. Mechanical Engineering Department, 1998.
• Seminar: "Process optimisation using predictive control". The University of Cambridge Control Group, 1996.
• Seminar: "Batch process input profie optimisation". The University of Newcastle Upon Type. Chemical Engineering Department, 1994.
• Seminar: "Predictive control using dynamic integrated system identification and parameter estimation". The University of Cambridge Control Group, 1994.
  

Administrative Duties

Current duties::

• Programme Director for  MSc in Cybernetics  (since 2004).
  
• Course Adviser for the degrees of MEng in Cybernetics and BSc in Cybernetics and Control Engineering.
• Member of the Cybernetics Board of Studies (since 2000)
  
• Member of the Postgraduate Board of Studies (since 2011).

Previous duties

• Chair of the Cybernetics Intelligence Research Group (2003-2009).
• Member of the Computer Science Board of Studies
• Member of the Faculty Board for Policy and Resource
  
• Member of the School of Systems Engineering IT and Technical Committee

Professional Memberships

• Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) (with CEng status)
• Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
• Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
  

• Member of two technical committes of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC):  Optimal Control and Adaptive Control and Learning
• Member of the Technical Committee on Robotics of the International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED).
• Member of the International Programme Committee for various international conferences.
  
• Co-organiser of the 2006 EPSRC/NSF Workshop on Cognitive Robotics and Control, UK.
• Grant proposal referee for the EPSRC 
• Grant proposal referee for the EU Eureka programme.
• Grant proposal referee and raporteur for the EU FP7 Programme.
  
• Reviewer for several major journals in the field of automatic control.

• Associate Editor of the International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control.
  
• Article curator for Scholarpedia.

• External examiner for the MSc in Systems and Control, CIty University, London.
• External examiner for PhD degrees at the Universities of Loughborough, Cranfield, Hull, Glasgow, City, Essex,  La Laguna (Spain), and Cantabria (Spain).

Prizes

ICI Prize for the best article published in the Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control in 1998.