On September 26, invited by IEEE IES Wuhan Chapter and SEEE, Professor Xiaohua Xia from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, gave a wonderful online seminar aboutThe Common Myths about Control System Modellingthrough Tencent Meeting.

What is the key to mathematics and computer modeling for control systems? In the lecture, based on his own learning experience and research projects carried out in South Africa in the past 20 years, especially in the fields of heavy-haul trains, HIV infection and energy-efficient building maintenance modeling, Professor Xiaohua Xia discussed several basic problems in the control system modeling, such as why the control systemsaremodeled, what’re the methods and steps of control system modeling, etc. Xia showed his powerful knowledgeand rich practical experience by illustrating the problems he faced in scientific research, problem-solving process and the achievements he achieved.

In the question-and-answer session, Professor Xia enthusiastically answered questions from teachers and students, such as the application of control system modeling, the selection of modeling sampled-data and the evaluation indicators of modeling, etc.

Biography

Xiaohua Xia is a professor in the Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering Department, University of Pretoria, director of the Centre of New Energy Systems,and the director of National Hub for the Postgraduate Programme in Energy Efficiency and Demand-Side Management. He obtained his PhD degree at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1989. He was academically affiliated with the University of Stuttgart, Germany, the Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France, and the National University of Singapore before joining the University of Pretoria in 1998. His research fields are nonlinear feedback control, observer design, time-delay systems, complex systems, modelling and control of HIV/AIDS, modelling and control of heavy-haul trains, and energy optimisation and management.

Prof. Xia was elected as a Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE) in 2005, and a Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) in 2011. And he has been an A-rated scientist by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) since 2010. He has been an associate editor of Automatica, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, and specialist editor (control) of the SAIEE Africa Research Journal. He is a Member of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).