A/Prof. Jose De Dona

Biography

J.A. De Dona completed a PhD in August 2000, in the area of Control Systems, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Newcastle. The title of his PhD Thesis was Input Constrained Control. The most significant contribution to the research field of control systems from his PhD Thesis was the realisation, and rigorous proof, that constrained Model Predictive Control can be solved analytically by using dynamic programming techniques. This has revealed a number of interesting connections between optimality based constrained control and other control techniques that, before, were thought to be totally unrelated; as for example Anti-windup control, a technique traditionally regarded as ad-hoc. The results obtained in

J.A. De Dona's Thesis were seminal to a considerable amount of subsequent research output produced by a team from the University of Newcastle, including Professor Graham Goodwin and Dr. Maria Seron and collaborators. One of the results from this research team, towards which J.A. De Dona's contribution was essential, was to unravel a duality relationship between constrained control and estimation problems. The team Goodwin-Seron-De Dona has recently published a book, Constrained Control and Estimation. An Optimisation Approach, Springer-Verlag, 2005, which according to a recent review by Frank L. Lewis in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, vol. 51 (2006), pp. 176-177, "provides a seminal foundation for unifying constrained control and constrained estimation within the framework of nonlinear programming."

Recently, J.A. De Dona, together with a PhD student under his supervision, J.B. Mare, have further extended the analytical solution of receding horizon constrained control by dynamic programming to more general cases, and have also solved analytically the moving horizon constrained state estimation problem. These analytical solutions have revealed an interesting symmetry between both problems, namely, constrained estimation and constrained control, that could not be exposed before. These results complement the duality results mentioned above, in establishing a solid connection between control and estimation in the presence of constraints.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Newcastle
• Bachelor of Engineering, National University of Comahue, Argentina

Research

Research keywords

• Constrained Control and Estimation
• Fault Tolerant Systems
• Model Predictive Control
• Multisensor systems
• Nonlinear Control

Research expertise

Expertise in Constrained Control and Estimation (PhD Thesis, one book co-authored, journal papers, several conference papers).

Expertise in Nonlinear Control Systems (journal and conference papers).

Expertise in Multisensor Systems and Fault Tolerant Systems (journal and conference papers).

Languages

• English
• Spanish

Fields of Research

Centres and Groups

Centre

• PRC - Centre for Complex and Dynamic Systems and Control
• Centre for Intelligent Electricity Networks (CIEN)

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• FEBE Faculty Research Committee

Invitations

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Member of FEBE Faculty Research Committe for 4 years.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Automatic Control
• Constrained Control and Estimation
• Electrical Circuits

Teaching expertise

Extensive experience in teaching medium to large undergraduate classes of multidisciplinary students (Elec.Computer, Mech., Mechatronics, Chem., Telecoms. Enginnering). Nominated once by students for 'Excellence in Teaching Award' (2002). Main expertise in two main subject areas: Automatic Control and Electrical Circuits. Experience in teaching postgraduate courses internationally (Argentina, Australia, France). Five years experience in Final Year Project supervision.