Joseph Zhuxin Lu received his B.Sc, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Zhejiang University in 1981, Beijing Institute of Technology in 1985, and University of Washington in 1990, respectively. He joined Honeywell in 1990, held various research and development roles, and is currently Chief Scientist and Senior Fellow at Process Solutions business unit. At Honeywell, Dr. Lu’s research interest has been in the areas of advanced control and optimization for process industries. His contribution to model predictive range control (MPRC) provided a unification of regulatory control, constraint control, and maneuvering control, which are the most common control problems in process industries. Process optimization is then restated as a form of maneuvering control. Model predictive range control (MPRC) has provided a foundation for a number of Honeywell’s commercial multivariable control and optimization products, including Profit Controller, Profit Optimizer, and Profit Loop. To date, more than 2600 multivariable MPRC applications have been commissioned worldwide in process industries (such as refining, petrochemical, oil & gas, coal gasification, polymer, pulp & paper, and aluminum) and, more recently, in some non-process industries (such as semiconductor, dairy products, and car painting). These installations include more than 2500 unit-level multivariable controllers and more than 100 multi-unit or plantwide dynamic real-time optimization applications (many with lifespans extending more than 10 years). Additionally, an embedded version of the MRPC algorithm for single-loop MPC control is provided with every Experion Process Knowledge System as a widely embraced PID replacement option, and more than 28,000 licensed copies of Profit Loop have been sold/released.
Dr. Lu is a member of IEEE and AIChE. He resides with his wife and two children in Phoenix, Arizona.