Abstract - Daoutidis - 9624725 A research program is planned to develop new analysis and controller design methods for nonlinear lumped parameter processes with input constraints and nonlinear distributed parameter processes. The motivation is provided by the inherent presence of nonlinearities and spatial variations in chemical processes, the presence of manipulated input constraints in all practical control systems, and the lack of rigorous and practical methods that can deal effectively with these features. The research will provide fundamental insight on the nature of the control problem for such systems and will develop concrete control algorithms with well-characterized stability, performance and robustness properties. It will also study practical implementation issues and will apply the developed methods to representative chemical processes. A series of educational activities is also planned, including improvement and development of undergraduate and graduate chemical engineering courses, the strengthening of the education and research infrastructure in control science and engineering at the University of Minnesota, the implementation of collaborative and cross-disciplinary activities, the utilization of available resources for improving teaching effectiveness, and the development of an education initiative for colleges in the state of Minnesota.
