Christopher R. Laughman

- Phone: 617-621-7545
- Email:
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Position:
Research / Technical Staff
Senior Principal Research Scientist,
Senior Team Leader -
Education:
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008 -
Research Areas:
- Multi-Physical Modeling
- Optimization
- Control
- Machine Learning
- Data Analytics
- Dynamical Systems
- Human-Computer Interaction
External Links:
Chris' Quick Links
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Biography
Christopher's interests lie in the intersection of the modeling of physical systems and the experimental construction and testing of these systems, including simulation, numerical methods, and fault detection. He has worked on a variety of multi-physical systems, such as thermo-fluid systems and electromechanical energy conversion systems.
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Recent News & Events
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NEWS MERL presents 9 papers at 2023 IFAC World Congress Date: July 9, 2023 - July 14, 2023
MERL Contacts: Karl Berntorp; Scott A. Bortoff; Ankush Chakrabarty; Stefano Di Cairano; Christopher R. Laughman; Diego Romeres; Abraham P. Vinod
Research Areas: Control, Dynamical Systems, Machine Learning, Multi-Physical Modeling, Optimization, RoboticsBrief- MERL researchers presented 9 papers and organized 2 invited/workshop sessions at the 2023 IFAC World Congress held in Yokohama, JP.
MERL's contributions covered topics including decision-making for autonomous vehicles, statistical and learning-based estimation for GNSS and energy systems, impedance control for delta robots, learning for system identification of rigid body dynamics and time-varying systems, and meta-learning for deep state-space modeling using data from similar systems. The invited session (MERL co-organizer: Ankush Chakrabarty) was on the topic of “Estimation and observer design: theory and applications” and the workshop (MERL co-organizer: Karl Berntorp) was on “Gaussian Process Learning for Systems and Control”.
- MERL researchers presented 9 papers and organized 2 invited/workshop sessions at the 2023 IFAC World Congress held in Yokohama, JP.
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NEWS MERL researchers present 10 papers at the American Control Conference (ACC) Date: May 31, 2023 - June 2, 2023
Where: San Diego, CA
MERL Contacts: Karl Berntorp; Ankush Chakrabarty; Vedang M. Deshpande; Stefano Di Cairano; Marcus Greiff; Devesh K. Jha; Christopher R. Laughman; Rien Quirynen; Arvind Raghunathan; Diego Romeres; Abraham P. Vinod; Yebin Wang; Avishai Weiss
Research Areas: Control, Machine Learning, OptimizationBrief- MERL will present 10 papers at the American Control Conference (ACC) in San Diego, CA, with topics including autonomous-vehicle decision making and control, physics-informed machine learning, motion planning, control subject to nonconvex chance constraints, and optimal power management. Two talks are part of tutorial sessions.
MERL will also be present at the conference as a sponsor, with a booth for discussing with researchers and students, and hosting a special session at lunch with highlights of MERL research and work philosophy.
- MERL will present 10 papers at the American Control Conference (ACC) in San Diego, CA, with topics including autonomous-vehicle decision making and control, physics-informed machine learning, motion planning, control subject to nonconvex chance constraints, and optimal power management. Two talks are part of tutorial sessions.
See All News & Events for Chris -
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Internships with Chris
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MS1851: Dynamic Modeling and Control for Grid-Interactive Buildings
MERL is looking for a highly motivated and qualified candidate to work on modeling for smart sustainable buildings. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of modeling renewable energy sources, grid-interactive buildings, occupant behavior, and dynamical systems with expertise demonstrated via, e.g., peer-reviewed publications. Hands-on programming experience with Modelica is preferred. The minimum duration of the internship is 12 weeks; start time is flexible.
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MS1958: Simulation, Control, and Optimization of Large-Scale Systems
MERL is seeking a motivated graduate student to research numerical methods pertaining to the simulation, control, and optimization of large-scale systems. Representative applications include large vapor-compression cycles and other multiphysical systems for energy conversion that couple thermodynamic, fluid, and electrical domains. The ideal candidate would have a solid background in numerical methods, control, and optimization; strong programming skills and experience with Julia/Python/Matlab are also expected. Knowledge of the fundamental physics of thermofluid flows (e.g., thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics), nonlinear dynamics, or equation-oriented languages (Modelica, gPROMS) is a plus. The expected duration of this internship is 3 months.
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MERL Publications
- "Physics-Constrained Deep Autoencoded Kalman Filters for Estimating Vapor Compression System States", IEEE Control Systems Letters, November 2023.BibTeX TR2023-138 PDF
- @article{Deshpande2023nov,
- author = {Deshpande, Vedang M. and Chakrabarty, Ankush and Vinod, Abraham P. and Laughman, Christopher R.},
- title = {Physics-Constrained Deep Autoencoded Kalman Filters for Estimating Vapor Compression System States},
- journal = {IEEE Control Systems Letters},
- year = 2023,
- month = nov,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-138}
- }
, - "Theoretical analysis of cycling losses in air source heat pump systems", International Congress of Refrigeration (ICR), September 2023.BibTeX TR2023-127 PDF
- @inproceedings{Qiao2023sep,
- author = {Qiao, Hongtao and Laughman, Christopher R.},
- title = {Theoretical analysis of cycling losses in air source heat pump systems},
- booktitle = {International Congress of Refrigeration (ICR)},
- year = 2023,
- month = sep,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-127}
- }
, - "Self-optimizing vapor compression cycles online with Bayesian optimization under local search region constraints", ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurements, and Control, September 2023.BibTeX TR2023-122 PDF
- @article{Paulson2023sep,
- author = {Paulson, Joel A. and Sorouifar, Farshud and Laughman, Christopher R. and Chakrabarty, Ankush},
- title = {Self-optimizing vapor compression cycles online with Bayesian optimization under local search region constraints},
- journal = {ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurements, and Control},
- year = 2023,
- month = sep,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-122}
- }
, - "A Virtual Testbed for Robust and Reproducible Calibration of Building Energy Simulation Models", 18th IBPSA International Conference and Exhibition Building Simulation, September 2023.BibTeX TR2023-114 PDF
- @inproceedings{Zhan2023sep,
- author = {Zhan, Sicheng and Chakrabarty, Ankush and Laughman, Christopher R. and Chong, Adrian},
- title = {A Virtual Testbed for Robust and Reproducible Calibration of Building Energy Simulation Models},
- booktitle = {18th IBPSA International Conference and Exhibition Building Simulation},
- year = 2023,
- month = sep,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-114}
- }
, - "Digital Twins for Vapor Compression Cycles: Challenges & Opportunities", International Congress of Refrigeration (ICR), August 2023.BibTeX TR2023-103 PDF
- @inproceedings{Laughman2023aug,
- author = {Laughman, Christopher R. and Deshpande, Vedang M. and Qiao, Hongtao and Bortoff, Scott A. and Chakrabarty, Ankush},
- title = {Digital Twins for Vapor Compression Cycles: Challenges & Opportunities},
- booktitle = {International Congress of Refrigeration (ICR)},
- year = 2023,
- month = aug,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2023-103}
- }
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- "Physics-Constrained Deep Autoencoded Kalman Filters for Estimating Vapor Compression System States", IEEE Control Systems Letters, November 2023.
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Videos
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MERL Issued Patents
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Title: "System and Method for Calculation of Thermofluid Properties using Saturation Curve-Aligned Coordinates"
Inventors: Laughman, Christopher; Bortoff, Scott A.; Qiao, Hongtao
Patent No.: 11,739,996
Issue Date: Aug 29, 2023 -
Title: "Method and System for Circuiting in Heat Exchangers"
Inventors: Raghunathan, Arvind U; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 11,704,447
Issue Date: Jul 18, 2023 -
Title: "Controlling Vapor Compression System Using Probabilistic Surrogate Model"
Inventors: Chakrabarty, Ankush; Laughman, Christopher; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 11,573,023
Issue Date: Feb 7, 2023 -
Title: "Extremum Seeking Control with Stochastic Gradient Estimation"
Inventors: Chakrabarty, Ankush; Danielson, Claus; Bortoff, Scott A.; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 11,467,544
Issue Date: Oct 11, 2022 -
Title: "System and Method for Power Optimizing Control of Multi-Zone Heat Pumps"
Inventors: Bortoff, Scott A.; Burns, Daniel J; Laughman, Christopher; Qiao, Hongtao
Patent No.: 10,895,412
Issue Date: Jan 19, 2021 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Refrigerant in Vapor Compression System"
Inventors: Laughman, Christopher; Qiao, Hongtao; Burns, Daniel J; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 10,830,515
Issue Date: Nov 10, 2020 -
Title: "System and Method for Thermal Comfort Control"
Inventors: Bortoff, Scott A.; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 10,767,887
Issue Date: Sep 8, 2020 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Vapor Compression Systems"
Inventors: Burns, Daniel J; Laughman, Christopher; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 10,495,364
Issue Date: Dec 3, 2019 -
Title: "Coordinated Operation of Multiple Space-Conditioning Systems"
Inventors: Laughman, Christopher; Qiao, Hongtao; Burns, Daniel J; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 10,234,158
Issue Date: Mar 19, 2019 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Multi-Zone Vapor Compression Systems"
Inventors: Burns, Daniel J; Di Cairano, Stefano; Bortoff, Scott A.; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 10,174,957
Issue Date: Jan 8, 2019 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling of Vapor Compression System"
Inventors: Burns, Dan; Jain, Neera; Laughman, Christopher; Di Cairano, Stefano; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,625,196
Issue Date: Apr 18, 2017 -
Title: "Method For Reconstructing 3D Scenes From 2D Images"
Inventors: Ramalingam, Srikumar; Taguchi, Yuichi; Pillai, Jaishanker K; Burns, Dan; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 9,595,134
Issue Date: Mar 14, 2017 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Vapor Compression Systems"
Inventors: Burns, Dan; Laughman, Christopher; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,534,820
Issue Date: Jan 3, 2017 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Temperature and Humidity in Multiple Spaces using Liquid Desiccant"
Inventors: Laughman, Christopher; Burns, Daniel J; Bortoff, Scott A.; Waters, Richard C.
Patent No.: 9,518,765
Issue Date: Dec 13, 2016 -
Title: "Adaptive Control of Vapor Compression System"
Inventors: Burns, Dan J; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 9,182,154
Issue Date: Nov 10, 2015 -
Title: "Controlling Operation of Vapor Compression System"
Inventors: Nikovski, Daniel N.; Laughman, Christopher; Burns, Dan J
Patent No.: 8,793,003
Issue Date: Jul 29, 2014 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Operations of Vapor Compression"
Inventors: Bortoff, Scott A.; Burns, Dan J; Laughman, Christopher
Patent No.: 8,694,131
Issue Date: Apr 8, 2014
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Title: "System and Method for Calculation of Thermofluid Properties using Saturation Curve-Aligned Coordinates"