EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, March 2002
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Major area: Control; Minor areas: Communications and Industrial Engineering
Thesis: "Hierarchical Model-Based Fault Diagnosis with Application to Vehicle Systems"
Advisors: Prof. Giorgio Rizzoni, Prof. Vadim Utkin

M.S. (Laurea) in Computer Engineering, October 1996 (5 years program)
University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Final Grade: 110/110, summa cum laude
Thesis: "Application of Second Order Variable Structure Control (VSC) to Induction Motor Contro"
Advisor: Prof. Giorgio Bartolini, Co-Advisor: Prof. Mario Marchesoni

EXPERIENCE

• Assistant Professor (07/03/06- Present)
  Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and CU-ICAR, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
  
  
• Senior Research Engineer (03/2003-06/30/06)
  Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  
  
• Ford Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (07/2002-03/2003)
  Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  
  
• Graduate Research Assistant (03/2002-07/2002)
  Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  
  
• Graduate Teaching Assistant (01/2002-03/2002)
  Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  
  
• Graduate Research Assistant (10/1999-12/2001)
  Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  
  
• Intern at Delphi (Summer 2000 and 2001)
  Delphi Automotive Systems, Brighton Technology Center, Brighton, MI
  
  
• Consulting Engineer at TIBCO (06/1999-08/1999)
  TIBCO Software Inc., Milan, Italy
  
  
• Visiting Scholar (12/1998-5/1999)
  The Ohio State University, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Columbus, OH
  
  
• Intern at FIAT (07/1998-11/1998)
  FIAT Research Center, Orbassano (Turin), Italy
  
  
• Consulting Engineer at DIST (10/1997-03/1998)
  University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
  
  
• Consulting Engineer at ANSALDO (11/1996-12/1997)
  ANSALDO Segnalamento Ferroviario S.p.A., Customer Service, Genoa, Italy
  
  

RESEARCH

Assistant Professor

• Co-PI with Prof. Rizzoni (Ohio State University) on a project funded by NSF-CMMI 0825655 titled "GOALI: Model-Based System Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis - Passive Robustness and Aging Prediction - Application to automotive electrical systems" (funded $249,861, Oct. 1, 2008-Sep. 30th 2011).
  


• Co-PI with Prof. Vahidi (ME, Clemson University) on a project funded by U.S. ARMY TARDEC titled "Utilizing 3D Aerial Terrain Maps for Improving Energy Management of Hybrid Vehicles," (funded $84,000, 08/15/2008-07/08/2009).The project focuses on studying the impact on fuel economy in hybrid electric vehicles based on the knowledge of terrain maps along the driving mission profile.
  


• Co-Advisor with Prof. Collins (ECE, Clemson Univ.) of two MS students on a project related to the design and implementation of a smart charger for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
  


• Advisor of a Ph.D student on a project titled "Robust and Affordable Methods for Humidity and Liquid Water Detection in Fuel Cell Stacks". The project consists in design of algorithms for the identification of flooding and drying conditions in a PEM fuel cell.
  

Senior Research Engineer

• Co-Supervisor with Prof. Rizzoni (OSU) on a project funded by GM R&D related to Diagnosis and Prognosis of Vehicle Electrical System (funded $78,167, April 1, 2005 – Jan 31, 2006). The project focuses on model-based fault diagnosis for fault detection and isolation in the electrical system of a conventional passenger vehicle, which includes a generator with rectifier and battery.
  


• Worked on a power train simulator for Hybrid Electric Trucks oriented to Design State Space Exploration for the U.S. ARMY TARDEC project ("Hybrid electric vehicle modeling, simulation, experimental validation and concept design", funded $728,000, Oct. 1, 2003--Sep. 30, 2005 and Ohio Board of Regents Action Fund, matching funds for the U.S. ARMY TARDEC project Oct. 1, 2003, Sep. 30, 2005, $750,000.). The TARDEC project is related to the design and control of different hybrid electric powertrain platforms for application in military trucks (15 tons). The SIMULINK simulator, compiled using Real-Time Workshop into C code, has been exercised thru different configuration choices (>10,000). Performance of each configuration has been evaluated using multi-attribute cost functions and dominance has been used to discard suboptimal configurations.
  


• Responsible for research in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) control and optimization for the U.S. ARMY TARDEC project ("Hybrid electric vehicle modeling, simulation, experimental validation and concept design", funded $728,000, Oct. 1, 2003--Sep. 30, 2005 and Ohio Board of Regents Action Fund, matching funds for the U.S. ARMY TARDEC project Oct. 1, 2003, Sep. 30, 2005, $750,000.) and U.S. DOE/NREL project ("Advanced heavy hybrid propulsion systems for increased fuel efficiency and decreased emissions.", funded $780,000, April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2006.). The NREL project consists in the design and control of a refuse truck with a series hybrid power train. A two levels hierarchical controller structure that consists of a Supervisory controller at the top level and local controllers for the various components at lower level is under study and development. The Supervisory controller is based on a simplified quasi-static model of the system and it is used to provide Power/Torque reference signals to the motors, generator and engine. The objective of the lower level controllers is to make sure that motors, generator and engine actually provide the requested Power/Torque from the Supervisor taking into account of more detailed dynamics of the components including power converters.
  


• Responsible for HEV control design and real-time control implementation for the OSU Future Truck 2003 Competition funded by the Department of Energy and Ford Motor Company (FutureTruck 2002/2003 student competition, $10,000, in-kind donation of SUV (value $35,000), 10/1/01 – 6/15/04).
  


• Co-Supervisor with Prof. A. Serrani (OSU) and Prof. Rizzoni (OSU) of the NSF-CMS 0220180-0030908001 project titled "Hierarchical modular fault diagnostics for complex systems" (National Science Foundation, Div. of Civil and Mechanical Systems, RF 743683, 10/1/2002- 9/30/2005). The conducted research in year 2004 has lead to the publication of a paper on fault diagnosis for steer-by-wire systems that has been awarded at the FISITA’04 World Congress as best paper in future automotive technologies. Actual research is in the area of model reference switching fault tolerant control and disturbance rejection using external adaptive hybrid models.
  


• Worked on real-time torque control for an induction motor using a TIM-Ecostar controller for the Future Truck 2003 Competition (03/2003-05/2003).
  

Ford Post-Doctoral Fellow

• Responsible for a project on modeling, control and benefit assessment of Starter/Alternators in HEV drivetrain sponsored by the CAR Industrial Consortium (Modeling of a Starter/Alternator System, Year I, funded $42,000, 10/1/02 – 9/30/03). The project objectives were the analysis of the effect of a starter alternator in a mild hybrid passenger vehicle with particular focus at performance and driveability evaluation. Acquired knowledge of simulators for HEV systems as PSAT, and VP-SIM.
  


• Responsible for simulation and design of a HEV control for the OSU Future Truck to be used in the Future Truck 2003 Competition funded by the Department of Energy and Ford Motor Company (FutureTruck 2002/2003 student competition, $10,000, in-kind donation of SUV (value $35,000), 10/1/01 – 6/15/04).
  


• Co-wrote a proposal with Prof. G. Rizzoni (OSU) and Delphi Automotive Systems to NSF/GOALI program (funded: $288,000, NSF-CMS 0220180-0030908001). The topic of the proposal is Hierarchical Modular Fault Diagnostics for Complex Systems, and it is related to the study of a hierarchical fault diagnostic scheme with particular focus on robustness with respect to parameter variations and unmodeled dynamics in vehicle systems.
  

Graduate Research Assistant

• Responsible for a project funded by Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems and Delphi Chassis Systems ("Model-Based Hazard Control", funded $175,555, 10/1/1999-3/31/2002) which involved the design, development and implementation of a Hierarchical Model-Based Diagnostic Scheme for vehicle systems with particular attention to steering-by-wire and braking-by-wire systems.
  The first year was dedicated to the study of the vehicle system, the validation of the model provided by Delphi, and the design of a decentralized FDI structure. The proposed FDI scheme uses qualitative and quantitative methodologies allowing great flexibility, modularity, and fault isolation with reduced computational effort. A minimal set of decentralized FDI units is assumed to be active at all time. When a fault is detected, a Fault Location and Isolation Procedure is started and additional FDI units are activated to perform isolation using combined information from a Fault Propagation Digraph. The second year was dedicated to the derivation of observers and estimators, the discretization of the algorithms and the experimental validation on a steering-by-wire bench. Results and description of the methodology are presented in my Ph.D. dissertation.
  

Intern at Delphi

• Temporarily employed at Delphi Brighton Technology Center to implement hierarchical model-based fault detection and isolation scheme. Delphi provided two new models, one matching the prototype vehicle and another one matching the steering-by-wire bench. In order to be able to implement the proposed fault diagnosis, the algorithms (observers, filters, etc.) were modified according to the new model and then discretized using different methodologies. Different discrete versions of the same algorithm were compared in simulation and a selection was made based on fault sensitivity and computational effort. Finally experiments were conducted on a steering-by-wire bench using a dSpace Autobox. Results and progress were reported weekly during a team meeting. Derived algorithms (observers, filters, etc.) for the fault detection and isolation scheme of a vehicle system with particular attention to Brake-by-Wire and Steer-By-Wire systems. Great emphasis was given to fault diagnosis of multiple faults. Results were reported weekly during a team meeting.
  
  Consulting Engineer at TIBCO
  
• Worked as freelance engineer for TIBCO in Milan on Bank software debugging and testing. The software utilized to buy and sell stocks and securities online on the MIBTEL was used by the clients of FINECO financial institution.
  
  
Visiting scholar

• Research on rotor resistance estimation of induction motors and induction motor control for direct PMW implementation with second order sliding modes under the supervision of Prof. Vadim Utkin. Particular emphasis was given to sliding-adaptive observers for induction motor control.
  

Intern at FIAT

• Worked as external consultant financed by the Automotive Technical Association (ATA) and in collaboration with Prof. A. Ferrara (University of Pavia, Italy) on the Cruise Control and Urban Drive Control for passenger vehicles. I studied the control design problems in automotive cruise control and developed a new second order sliding mode control algorithm. The results were published on the IEEE Transaction of Intelligent Vehicles.
  

Consulting Engineer at DIST

• Worked as an external consultant at the Department of Informatics, Systems and Telecommunications at the University of Genoa on a project financed by the European Community (CEE) with G.E.A. srl and supervised by Prof. Giorgio Bartolini (University of Cagliari) for the realization of an Anti-turnover System for Crane Trucks. Studied, derived and implemented a new algorithm for the crane truck’s load estimation and a sliding mode control algorithm for the solution of the vertical/horizontal control problem.
  

Consulting Engineer at ANSALDO

• Worked at the Customer Service as supervisor of a group of people dedicated to software installations, system configurations, printer and plotter installations for a new reconfiguration/modernization project of the "Ferrovie dello Stato" (State rail-road) in Italy. Executed diagnostic tasks for UNIX systems on the rail-road traffic monitoring network of the "Ferrovie dello Stato’’ (F.S. S.pA).

OTHER SPONSORED ACTIVITIES

Creative Inquiry Projects

• Co-Advisor on an undergraduate project titled "Optimal Design of a Range Extender for Electric Golf Carts" funded $2,400 in year 1 (01/05/2009-06/30/2010).
  
  

TEACHING

• Development of course AuE 817 Alternative Power Sources, taught in Fall 08.
  


• Guest lecturer for AuE 828 Fundamentals of Vehicle Drivelines and Powertrain Integration, Spring 08 (3 lectures)


• Development of course AuE 826 Vehicle Diagnostics, taught in Sp08.
  


• Development of course AuE 881 Automotive Systems: An Integrated Overview, taught in Fall 07 and Fall08.
  


• Delivered a post-doctoral course on Diagnostics for Mechatronic Systems with Prof. Rizzoni at PoliMI, Italy, Feb 26th, 2007 - Mar 2nd, 2007.
  


• Co-Instructor/Evaluator in ME 402 - Internship in Engineering Design, Fall 2006.
  


• Lectured in the ME874 Course "Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Mechatronic Systems", prepared course notes and presentations (WI04 and WI06).
  


• Worked as a teaching assistant for the course ME874 - Fault Diagnosis in Mechatronic Systems. Modified and improved the course notes, prepared and graded the homework assignments (01/2002-03/2002).

  
  

  SEMINARS
  

  • "Fault Diagnosis Methods with Industrial Applications", Invited seminar speaker at University of Salerno, Italy, March 6th, 2007.

  
  PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
  

  • Attended the DSCD Executive Committee Meeting hold at IMECE 2006, Chicago, IL
    
  
  
  • Attended the Automotive and Transportation Committee hold at IMECE 2006, Chicago, IL
    
  
  
  • Attended the DSCD Executive Committee Meeting hold at IMECE 2005, Orlando, FL
    
  
  
  • Attended the Automotive and Transportation Committee hold at IMECE 2005, Orlando,FL
    
  
  
  • Attended the DSCD Executive Committee Meeting hold at IMECE 2004, Anaheim, CA
    
  
  
  • Attended the DSCD Executive Committee Meeting hold at IMECE 2003, Washington, DC.
    
  
  
  • Attended the DSCD Executive Committee Meeting hold at IMECE 2002, New Orleans,Louisiana.

  
  

  PATENTS
  
  G. Rizzoni, A. Soliman, P. Pisu, S. Amberkar, B. Murray, "Fault detection and isolation system and method", filed 11/09/01. OSU Ref. #: 01ID45F, U.S. Patent Application No. 10/039,636. Patent No. 6,687,585 B1, granted on Feb. 2004.
  
  G. Rizzoni, A. Soliman, P. Pisu, S. Amberkar, B. Murray, "Model-Based Fault detection and isolation system and method", filed 11/09/01. OSU Ref. #: 01ID45F, U.S. Patent Application No. 10/039,634. Patent No. 6,766,230 B1, granted on Jul. 2004.

  
  HONORS AND AWARDS
  

  • Honored member of Who’s Who in America 2009 Edition.
    
  
  
  • Rolls-Royce scholarship award 2005 for demonstrated leadership, communication, teamwork and academic excellence.
    
  
  
  • Honored Member of Strathmore’s Who’s Who included in the 2005-2006 Edition of Strathmore’s Who’s Who for Demonstrated Leadership and Achievement in Engineering Research and Education.
    
  
  
  • Winner of the Best Paper and Outstanding Presentation Award in Future Automotive Technologies at FISITA’04 World Congress with the paper titled "Model-Based Sensor Fault Detection and Isolation in a Steer-by-wire system with Parameter Uncertainties".
    
  
  
  • Best Paper Presentation in the Vehicle Control II session at the American Control Conference 2003.
    
    
  • Outstanding Ph.D. student, initiated into The Ohio State University Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi on Tuesday, May 15 2001.
    
  
  
  • 'The Best and Youngest Graduate in Computer Engineering' at the University of Genoa for the academic year 95/96.

  
  MEMBERSHIPS
  

  • IEEE since 2007
    
  • SAE member since 2003
  • ASME member since 2002
  • Phi Kappa Phi member 2001

  PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  
  Basic Curriculum: ETS Open House (8/16/2006)
  
  Blackboard Course Management System: Blackboard: Getting Started (8/14/2006)
  
  OTEI Workshop: Contract Grading: Melding Learning with Assessment (8/14/2006); Maximizing Student Learning and Participation in Discussions (7/27/2006); Finding Research and Project Funding Opportunities Tailored to Your Needs (9/1/2006); Documenting Your Teaching Effectiveness (9/29/2006); Copyright and Fair Use with Visual Materials (5/9/2007).

  
  SPECIAL SKILLS
  
  Strong background in automatic control of linear and non-linear systems.
  Excellent understanding of automotive system diagnostics and energy management in hybrid vehicles.
  

  
  RESEARCH INTERESTS
  

  • Fault diagnosis via quantized modeling, fault diagnosis of large scale systems, qualitative fault diagnosis, application of operations research algorithms to fault diagnosis
    
  
  
  • Nonlinear control theory, sliding mode control of uncertain systems, fault tolerant control, LMI-robust control, LPV control
    
  
  
  • Nonlinear observers and estimators
    
  
  
  • Applications: Fault diagnosis for Fuel Cell systems, HEV control, robotics, renewable communities.

    
    

  PERSONAL INTERESTS
  
  Hiking, martial arts, chess, cinema, ballroom dancing, racquetball, tennis, archery, salsa dancing.
  
  
  
  
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