Steve Yurkovich
Head of the Systems Engineering Department
Louis Beecherl Jr. Distinguished Chair

972-883-2305 | Office: ECSS 3.803 | email

As the first head of systems engineering at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, I am spearheading a department that enables our graduates to take leading roles in product development, R&D and a wide range of other interdisciplinary high-tech efforts within industry, government and academia.

Education
1984 PhD Electrical Engineering (Applied Mathematics, Systems and Control), University of Notre Dame
1978 BS Engineering Science, Rockhurst University

Experience

• Professor, The Ohio State University, 1996-2011
• Director, Honda-OSU Partnership Program, 2003-2011
• Acting Director, OSU’s Center for Automotive Research, 2007
• Education Director, OSU Center for Automotive Research and College of Engineering, 1996-2011
• Visiting Professor, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 2001
• Visiting Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame, 1992
• Associate Professor, The Ohio State University, 1989-1996
• Adjunct Professor, The Ohio Aerospace Institute, 1990-2006
• Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, 1984-1989

Research Interests

• System identification and modeling for control; nonlinear control systems; automotive control systems; energy storage systems modeling, identification and control; robotics and automation; flexible mechanical structures; aerospace control systems; process control systems; welding control systems
• Engine and powertrain control systems; combustion feedback control; after treatment systems modeling and control; torque converter control; energy storage systems modeling, identification and control

Recent Sponsored Research

• Cummins Engine Co.: Engine Combustion Control, 2009-2012 ($640,881)
• Cummins Engine Co.: Engine Variability Measurements, 2009-2012 ($109,555)
• Cummins Engine Co.: Control Strategies for Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 2008-2010 ($357,919)
• General Motors Corp.: Model-Based Algorithms for Next Generation Air-to-Fuel Ratio Control, 2004-2009 ($1,109,985)
• Center for Automotive Research, OSU (Industrial Consortium Project): Hierarchical water transport model dynamics, control and in-situ diagnostics of water transport in automotive PEM stacks under transient load conditions, 2007-2008 ($51,154)
• General Motors Corp.: Model-Based Algorithms for Next Generation Charge Estimation, 2004-2008 ($809,799)
• Department of Energy: Graduate Automotive Technologies Education Center, 2005-2010 ($1,282,468)

Honors, Awards and Recognition

• Elected to IEEE Board of Directors, Division X (Director-Elect 2012, Director 2013-14)
• Elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (2001)
• 2008 John R. Ragazzini Award in Control Education from the American Automatic Control Council
• Semi-Plenary Lecture, 2006 Conference on Decision and Control, “Calibrating the Control Engineer”
• Speaker in Special Plenary Panel (invited), 2004 American Control Conference“Winning that Academic Job”
• OSU College of Engineering, 2004 Honda Partnership Award
• Speaker in Special Plenary Panel (invited), 2003 Conference on Decision and Control, “Future of Control in Automotive Applications”
• The Ohio State University, College of Engineering, 2002 Lumley Interdisciplinary Research Award
• IEEE Columbus Section 2001 Fellow of the Year
• IEEE Control Systems Society 2000 Distinguished Member Award
• IEEE Millennium Medal recipient (2000)
• Plenary speaker, 1998 International Symposium on Intelligent Robotic Systems
• Plenary speaker, 1997 European Control Conference
• The Ohio State University, College of Engineering, Lumley Research Award (1991, 1996)
• Elected IEEE Senior Member (1993)

Scholarship
Textbooks

• “Control Systems Technology Lab,” with E. Abiakel (Pearson Custom Publishing, 2004)
• “Fuzzy Control,” with K.M. Passino (Addison-Wesley-Longman, 1998)
• “Control Systems Laboratory,” with D.J. Clancy and J.K. Hurtig (Simon & Schuster Custom Publishing, 1998)
• “Control System Laboratory” (Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1991)

Other Selected Publications

• J. Meyer, S. Yurkovich, and S. Midlam-Mohler, "Air-to-Fuel Ration Switching Frequency Control for Gasoline Engines," to appear in IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 2012.
• Y. Hu and S. Yurkovich, "Battery Cell State-of-Charge Estimation using Linear Parameter Varying System Techniques," Journal of Power Sources, 198 (2012) 338–350.
• Al-Durra, M. Canova, and S. Yurkovich, “A Model-Based Methodology for Real-Time Estimation of Diesel Engine Cylinder Pressure,” ASME J. Dynamics Systems, Measurement, and Control, Vol. 133, No. 3, 2011.
• J. Meyer, S. Yurkovich, and S. Midlam-Mohler, “A Model Based Estimator for Cylinder Specific Air-to-Fuel Ratio Corrections,” ASME J. Dynamics Systems, Measurement, and Control, Vol. 133, No. 3, 2011.
• Y. Hu and S. Yurkovich, “Linear parameter varying battery model identification using subspace methods,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, No. 5, pp. 2913 – 2923, 2011.
• Al-Durra, S. Yurkovich, and Y. Guezennec, “On the Control of Automotive Traction PEM Fuel Cell Systems,” in Trends and Developments in Automotive Engineering, MSc Iva Lipovic, Ed., INTECH, ISBN 978-953-7619-X-X, Vienna, Austria, 2011.
• Y. Hu, S. Yurkovich, Y. Guezennec, and B. J. Yurkovich, “Electro-thermal battery model identification for automotive applications,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, No. 1, pp. 449 – 457, Jan   2011.
• Al-Durra, S. Yurkovich, and Y. Guezennec, “Study of Nonlinear Control Schemes for an Automotive Traction PEM Fuel Cell System,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, No. 20, pp. 11291 - 11307, Oct 2010.
• Y. Hu, S. Yurkovich, Y. Guezennec, and B. J. Yurkovich, “A technique for dynamic battery model identification in automotive applications using linear parameter varying structures,” IFAC Control Engineering Practice, Vol. 17, pp. 1190 – 1201, 2009.
• M. Canova, Y. Guezennec, and S. Yurkovich, “On the Control of Engine Start/Stop Dynamics in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle,” ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, Vol. 131, Issue 6, 2009. ¹
• D. O. Sigthorsson, P. Jankovsky, A. Serrani, S. Yurkovich, M. A. Bolender, and D. B. Doman, “Robust Linear Output Feedback Control of an Air-Breathing Hypersonic Vehicle,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 31, No. 4, Jul-Aug 2008.
• Y. Luo, A. Serrani, S. Yurkovich, M. W. Oppenheimer, and D. B. Doman, “A Model-Predictive Dynamic Control Allocation Scheme for Re-entry Vehicles,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Navigation, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 100-113, Jan-Feb 2007.
• J. Parker, A. Serrani, S. Yurkovich, M. A. Bolender, and D. B. Doman, “Control-oriented Modeling of an Air-breathing Hypersonic Vehicle,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Navigation, pp. 856-869, May-Jun 2007.
• Y. Luo, A. Serrani, S. Yurkovich, M. W. Oppenheimer, and D. B. Doman, “A Model-Predictive Dynamic Control Allocation Scheme for Re-entry Vehicles,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Navigation, Vol. 30, No. 1 , pp. 100-113, Jan-Feb 2007.

¹This paper was #1 on the list of the “Ten most downloaded research papers” in the months of Dec 2009 and Jan 2010 on the ASME website, and 8th, 4th, 2nd, and 7th in the months Feb – May 2010.