Chemical Engineering announces new ABB Reader in Autonomous Industrial Systems

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mehmet Mercangöz joined the Department of Chemical Engineering on 1 May 2021.

The ABB Reader in Autonomous Industrial Systems post is sponsored by ABB, a leading technology company in industrial automation and electrification. It exists to drive world-leading research in digitalisation and autonomous process operation using methods such as industrial Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, modelling, and optimisation. 

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Professor Nina Thornhill for her dedication to the role, which she has held since 2007. Professor Thornhill will continue part-time until September and support an effective transition to Dr Mercangöz.

Dr Mercangöz’s work will address increasing the safety and efficiency of process systems by augmenting the decision-making capabilities of plant operators with advanced algorithms and will also seek to develop control solutions for unstaffed processes such as containerised modular systems or those at remote production sites.

Dr Mercangöz completed his BSc and MSc degrees in Chemical Engineering at Bo?aziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2000 and 2002 respectively. He went on to complete his PhD at the University of California in 2007 with a thesis in the field of distributed model predictive control and real-time optimisation of process systems.

In 2007 he joined the ABB Corporate Research Centre in Switzerland as Scientist and Principal Scientist on various projects in energy systems, including the development of a novel electro-thermal energy storage concept. From 2012 until 2018 he led the Control and Optimization Research Group at the same research centre, and in 2018 he was promoted to the role of Senior Principal Scientist and involved in the creation of a new technology and innovation organisation called ABB Future Labs.

During the same period, Dr Mercangöz assumed the coordination role for the technology area of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics at ABB Corporate Research. Since 2018, he has been working as a part-time lecturer at ETH Zurich for the Industrial Process Control course. He has authored over 40 conference and journal articles and is listed as an inventor in 35 patents and patent applications.