Control Techniques for Complex Networks

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This proposal concerns policy synthesis and performance evaluation for complex systems. Researchwill focus on the development of methods to achieve reliability in complex networks thatare subject to substantial variability. Speci.c topics include resource allocation, performanceevaluation, and new approaches to fast simulation and adaptation. Power transmission networksare taken as a primary application of this research, and will guide the directions for theoreticalresearch.Intellectual MeritsThe proposed research will build upon recent advances in stochastic systems and stochastic networksto bring new approaches to model reduction and policy synthesis for complex, interconnectedsystems. The project will also serve as a bridge between researchers in economics andcontrol systems to synthesize recent innovations from these .elds.The most basic issue addressed in this project is complexity management. In a variety ofapplications one seeks control solutions of reasonable complexity in spite of the complexity of thesystem to be controlled. It is very important that the solution provide some intuition to the userfor the purposes of both prediction and policy improvement.Centralized optimal control solutions will be used as a benchmark in analyzing decentralizedpolicies, and as a tool for constructing appropriate market mechanisms to ensure reliability in adecentralized setting.Traditional economic analysis to address reliability in power distribution systems is based ona static (equilibrium) model. While much insight has been gained, just as in the design of acontrol system for an airplane, a static equilibrium model is inadequate to address robustness andreliability. The PIs have shown recently that it is possible to construct tractable dynamic modelsof power distribution systems that reveal insight on the sources of low reserves in a decentralizedsetting. The discovery of new methods to combat these de.ciencies is a major goal of this research.Broader ImpactFundamental research on accelerated algorithms for learning and simulation has potential impactin various .elds, including computer vision and data mining. Similarly, the control techniquesto be developed are based on minimal structural assumptions, and consequently there is highprobability of crossover into various .elds.Research on large-scale electric power has tremendous potential commercial impact. A clearunderstanding of the dynamics of deregulated markets will provide for the .rst time a properevaluation of the social value of reliability, and the construction of e.ective incentives and policytools to ensure e.cient market outcomes. These results will provide forecasting tools for policymakers to predict behavior of users and suppliers, and design mechanisms to ensure reliable ande.cient service.A CSL-ECE-Economics Department seminar series on distributed networks will be initiated.Professors will be invited from across the country, and as far away as India to present recent work.This will strengthen existing collaborations within the University of Illinois as well as the broaderresearch community in the networks area. The seminar series will also provide excellent trainingfor the students involved.