Biography

Matthew Turner was born in 1975 in Northamptonshire, UK, and was educated locally. He obtained a BEng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Surrey in 1996. In the same year he joined the Control Group in the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester to study for a PhD under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Walker. After completing his PhD in 2000, he stayed at Leicester as a Research Associate, working with Prof. Ian Postlethwaite. In July 2002 he took up a Lectureship in control at Leicester and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2008. Since 2002 he has lectured a variety of different courses, ranging from Signals and Systems, to Aerospace Peformance. In 2000 he was a visiting researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and in 2006 and 2010 he was a visiting researcher at LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse.

Research

• Anti-windup design
• Robust control
• Flight control
• Absolute stability
  
  

  Publications

Dr. Turner's research interests lie on the boundary between linear and nonlinear control. In other words he is interested in how largely linear control methods can be used for systems which have nonlinear characteristics. This has much practical appeal due to (i) the preponderance of linear controllers in industrial settings and (ii) the fact that all real-world systems are, to some extent, nonlinear. He is particularly interested in the design of additional control elements to improve the behaviour of existing (legacy) controllers.

Dr. Turner is interested in both the theory and practice of control engineering. His post-doctoral research first ignited his interest in anti-windup compensator design and he has contributed to both the theory behind anti-windup algorithms and the implementation of anti-windup compensators on real systems. He was part of a Leicester/DLR team which implemented anti-windup compensators for pilot-induced-oscillation suppression, and has substantial experience in the design and flight test of anti-windup compensators. His ideas on anti-windup control have also been applied to various other aerospace applications as well as hard-disk drives and automotive systems.

Another strand of research has been investigating the design and implementation of robust controllers for flight control systems. He has designed robust controllers for the NRC experimental fly-by-wire Bell 205 helicopters, the Westland Lynx and the AgustaWestland EH101. Recent research is looking into the control of novel actuators for vibration reduction in helicopters.

Dr. Turner is also interested in classical absolute stability theory and its modern interpretation. He is particularly interested in multiplier, IQC (integral quadratic constraint), and novel Lyapunov approaches to absolute stability analysis.

Former/current PhD students:

• Dr. Jorge Sofrony. Thesis "Anti-windup synthesis using Riccati equations"; graduated 2007. Now an Associate Professor at the National University of Colombia.
• Dr. Phil March. Thesis "Robust anti-windup and its application to permanent magnet synchronous motor speed regulation"; graduated 2009. Now Control Systems Team Leader, TRW Electric Powered Steering, Solihull.
• Dr. Arun Nair. Thesis "Systematic Development of a Limited Authority Flight Control System for Helicopters"; graduated 2011. Now a control engineer with Rolls Royce, Bristol.
• Ms. Angeliki Lekka . "Analysis and Control of wave energy converters"; research in progress.

Current Research Projects

• REACT - Rotor Embedded Actuator Control Technology. TSB(DTI). 2008-2013. (PI)
• ITP - Dynamic controllers. MoD/MBDA. 2009-2013. (CI)
• RTVP - Rotorcraft Technology Validation Programme. Agusta-Westland Helicopters. 2011-2013. (PI)

Teaching

Current Modules taught

• Signals and systems (1st year).
• Aircraft Stability and Performance (2nd year).
• Modelling and simulation of engineering systems (3rd year).

Student feedback

• State variable control
  • 2003 questionnaire results.
• Modelling and simulation of engineering systems
  • 2004 questionnaire results.
  • 2006 questionnaire results.
  • 2010 questionnaire results.
• Signals and Systems
  • 2006 questionnaire results.
  • 2008 questionnaire results.
  • 2010 questionnaire results.
• Aircraft Performance and Stability
  • 2012 questionnaire results.

Administrative Responsibilities

• 3rd/4th Year Exam Board Secretary