Abstract:
Whirlpool, the world’s leading major home appliance company, has been an innovator for over 100 years, beginning with a patent for an electric-driven wringer washer. Current refrigerator advancements are taking the appliance from a two-compartmentdevice (refrigerator and freezer) to one with multiple compartment systems that allow the user to quickly access snacks or even convert compartments from refrigerator to freezer and back again. These compartments increase the energy consumption of the system and require significant increases in expensive insulation to manage temperature control.
In order to drive disruptive innovation of performance algorithms, Whirlpool is looking at methods to easily design, prototype, and test advanced controls technologies, including machine learning, neural networks, and model predictive controllers (MPC) that will more efficiently cool these complex systems.
Impact:
Development of advanced controls for refrigeration will allow Whirlpool to decrease energy consumption, and reduce insulation costs. This energy reduction will further help Whirlpool in its mission to exceed carbon emission reduction targets that are aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Python programming (2-4 Students)
Specific Skills: General programming skills.
Completion of EECS 281 or equivalent knowledge.
The project will run in Python please indicate your experience level.
Should be interested and motivated to learn more about controls and developing ML skills.
Likely Majors: CS, Any
Controls (4-5 Students)
Specific Skills: Modern controls, fuzzy logic.
Open source Python framework experience or motivation to learn.
Should be strongly motivated to increase your controls skills. Completion of a controls course is a big plus.
Likely Majors: CE, EE, ROB, ME
Sponsor Mentor
Jean Rusczak
Jean is a lead engineer in model based design at Whirlpool. He is an Electrical engineer, with an MsC in electrical engineering, specialized in Control Systems, with 10+ years of industry experience. He has actively worked with Classical Control as well as with Advanced Controls and Sensing Techniques, such as Neural Networks, Machine Learning, and new sensors.
Matthias von Andrian
Matthias is a model based design engineer at Whirlpool. He is a chemical engineer with an MsC in chemical engineering, specialized in process modelling. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from MIT, where his research focused on model predictive control for chemical processes under uncertainties. At Whirlpool, he has worked on models, as well as development of advanced control algorithms for refrigeration systems.
Executive Mentor
Himabindu Yamana
Hima is a Senior Manager in the model-based design team at Whirlpool. She has a Masters in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Texas, and recently finished her second Masters in Business Administration from the Ross school of Business. She is also a Certified Systems Engineering professional,and has 14+ years of experience working in embedded controls and systems engineering intwo different industries. She currently manages approximately 27 Engineering resources, focusing on controls, simulation, tools, and infrastructure creation for the success of model-based design. This team is currently globally located in the US, Poland, Italy and India.
Faculty Mentor
Peter Seiler
Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Peter works in the area of robust control theory, which focuses on the impact of model uncertainty on systems design. He is a co-author of the Robust Control Toolbox in Matlab. He is currently developing theoretical and numerical algorithms to assess the robustness of systems on finite time horizons. He is also investigating the use of robust control techniques to better understand optimization algorithms and model-free reinforcement learning methods.
He joined Michigan in 2020 from the University of Minnesota, where he had been working on advanced control techniques for wind turbines, fault-detection methods for safety-critical systems, and robust control of disk drives.
Citizenship Requirements:
- This project is open to all students
- International students on an F-1 visa will be required to declare part-time CPT during Winter 2023 and Fall 2023 terms. To learn more about this including eligibility, see our website
IP/NDA: Students will sign a non-disclosure agreement with Whirlpool
Internship/Summer Opportunity: Students will be guaranteed an interview for a 2023 internship. The interviews will take place in Q1 of 2023