9502636 Stankovic This research project will explore the dynamics of power systems and electric drives in the context of dissipative dynamical systems. Interesting connections between this class of systems and the theory of nonlinear electrical circuits have been established in the past while links to robust control design are of a very recent origin. Many control questions of interest for power systems and electric drives can be addressed in this framework, and it is felt that extensions (e.g. for the class of nonlinear periodic systems) are also feasible. One distinctive feature of the intended approach is that it is deeply rooted in the physical processes underlying electromechanical energy conversion. This can be contrasted with the approach that starts from a chosen theoretical framework, and then looks for an application area in which the framework could prove successful. Design tools resulting from this second approach are often conservative, and decoupled from the designer's engineering intuition. ***
