Dr Michael Short
Biography
Dr Michael Short is a Lecturer of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Surrey in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. His research expertise and background are in the development mathematical optimisation tools to create software for process systems for automated optimal process design, process integration, data analysis, and process control. Dr Short received his B.Sc. (2011) and Ph.D. (2017) from the University of Cape Town in South Africa doing research on optimal heat exchanger networks and pollutant recovery systems. After being awarded his PhD, Dr Short spent 2 years working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Process Decision-making (CAPD) at Carnegie Mellon University with Prof. Lorenz T. Biegler in Pittsburgh. Their work focused on developing an open-source software package, KIPET, for chemists at Eli Lilly and Company for kinetic parameter estimation from spectra for use in drug development. Michael has worked on projects involving companies such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Dow Chemicals, and Carrier.
Areas of specialism
University roles and responsibilities
- Responsible for Departmental Media and Marketing
My qualifications
Previous roles
Affiliations and memberships
Business, industry and community links
In the media
Research
Research interests
Dr Michael Short's research interests are in using optimisation modelling for applications in the design of chemical processing units and integrate processes, as well as in parameter estimation and process control. His research uses mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) as well as nonlinear programming (NLP) to create software, techniques and algorithms to solve large-scale problems with relevance to industries as wide-ranging as pharmaceuticals, water treatment, petrochemicals, and energy systems.
Research projects
Distributed Energy Systems (DES) have been increasingly investigated as a viable alternative to ageing centralised energy networks. Optimisation models presented in literature for the design and operation of distributed energy systems often exclude the inherent nonlinearities, related to power flow and generation and storage units, to maintain an accuracy-complexity balance. Such models may provide sub-optimal or even infeasible designs and dispatch schedules. In DES, optimal power flow (OPF) is often treated as a standalone problem, consisting of highly nonlinear, nonconvex constraints related to the underlying distribution network. This aspect of the optimisation problem has often been overlooked by researchers in the process systems and optimisation area.
This project aims to address the disparity between OPF and DES models, highlighting the importance of including elements of OPF in DES design and operational models to obtain feasible designs and operational schedules. The literature review identifies key works that have attempted to do so, and highlights several gaps that have remained despite these efforts. A methodology is proposed to develop new models that are capable of maintaining the accuracy-complexity balance, while consolidating DES and OPF and including detailed representations of key components (such as batteries). It involves three modelling routes, each designed to investigate how detailed modelling can impact DES objectives, designs, and operating schedules. Current model formulations are implemented and tested, where preliminary results shed light on the multi-faceted nature of DES and the need to make detailed optimisation models available to stakeholders who are interested in consolidating them. Finally, the project plan outlines how this methodology will be executed over the remaining years of the PhD, and the potential research outputs upon successful completion.
Research collaborations
Dr Short regularly collaborates with industrial and academic partners from around the world, with active projects with:
- Prof Lorenz T. Biegler (Carnegie Mellon University)
- Assoc Prof. Adeniyi Isafiade (University of Cape Town)
- Prof Dominic Foo (University of Nottingham Malaysia)
- Dr Salvador Garcia-Munoz (Eli Lilly, Imperial College London, Carnegie Mellon University)
- Prof Raymond Tan (De La Salle University)
Indicators of esteem
Best Speaker Award (First Place) - The 4th Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory Scientific Conference, Energy, Water, Emission & Waste in Industry and Cities, 2020
Supervision
Postgraduate research supervision
Optimisation of Distributed Energy Systems
Postgraduate Researcher: Ishanki A. De Mel
Distributed Energy Systems (DES) have been increasingly investigated as a viable alternative to ageing centralised energy networks. Optimisation models presented in literature for the design and operation of distributed energy systems often exclude the inherent nonlinearities, related to power flow and generation and storage units, to maintain an accuracy-complexity balance. Such models may provide sub-optimal or even infeasible designs and dispatch schedules. In DES, optimal power flow (OPF) is often treated as a standalone problem, consisting of highly nonlinear, nonconvex constraints related to the underlying distribution network. This aspect of the optimisation problem has often been overlooked by researchers in the process systems and optimisation area.
This project aims to address the disparity between OPF and DES models, highlighting the importance of including elements of OPF in DES design and operational models to obtain feasible designs and operational schedules. The literature review identifies key works that have attempted to do so, and highlights several gaps that have remained despite these efforts. A methodology is proposed to develop new models that are capable of maintaining the accuracy-complexity balance, while consolidating DES and OPF and including detailed representations of key components (such as batteries). It involves three modelling routes, each designed to investigate how detailed modelling can impact DES objectives, designs, and operating schedules. Current model formulations are implemented and tested, where preliminary results shed light on the multi-faceted nature of DES and the need to make detailed optimisation models available to stakeholders who are interested in consolidating them. Finally, the project plan outlines how this methodology will be executed over the remaining years of the PhD, and the potential research outputs upon successful completion.
Research theme: Digital and Process Innovation
Completed postgraduate research projects I have supervised
Graduated Research Students:
2020
MSc
Anandmoy Jana - Designing Supply Chains in the Digital Era
MEng
Hasan Amjad
Saim Rafiq
2019
MSc
Somang Kim (University of Cape Town) - The Synthesis of Combined Heat and Mass Exchange Networks (CHAMENs) With Renewables Considering Environmental Impact
My teaching
Currently teach the following subjects
Semester 1:
- Process dynamics (Year 2)
- Industrial Systems and Design (Year 3)
Semester 2:
- Capital cost estimating and economic evaluation of projects for final Chemical Engineering design project (Year 3/4)
- Sustainability of projects for final Chemical Engineering design project (Year 3/4)
Courses I teach on
Undergraduate
My publications
Publications
C Schenk, M Short, JS Rodriguez, D Thierry, LT Biegler, S García-Muñoz, W Chen, 2020, Introducing KIPET: A novel open-source software package for kinetic parameter estimation from experimental datasets including spectra, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 134.
AJ Isafiade, M Short, 2019, Synthesis of Renewable Energy Integrated Combined Heat and Mass Exchange Networks, Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability, 4.
AJ Isafiade, M Short, 2019, Review of Mass Exchanger Network Synthesis Methodologies, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 76.
Michael Short, Christina Schenk, David Thierry, Jose Santiago Rodriguez, Lorenz T Biegler, Salvador Garcia-Muñoz, KIPET–An Open-Source Kinetic Parameter Estimation Toolkit, Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 47.
Short, M., Isafiade, A.J., Biegler, L.T., Kravanja, Z., 2018, Synthesis of mass exchanger networks in a two-step hybrid optimization strategy, Chemical Engineering Science, 178, 118-135.
Isafiade, A.J., Short, M., Bogataj, M., Kravanja, Z., 2017, Integrating Renewables into Multi- Period Heat Exchanger Network Synthesis Considering Economics and Environmental Impact, Computers & Chemical Engineering , 99, 51-65.
Short, M., Isafiade, A.J., Fraser, D.M., Kravanja, Z., 2016, Two-step hybrid approach for the synthesis of multi-period heat exchanger networks with detailed exchanger design, Applied Thermal Engineering, 105, 807-821.
Isafiade, A.J., Short, M., 2016, Simultaneous synthesis of flexible heat exchanger exchange networks for unequal multi-period operations, Process Safety and Environmental Protection , 103, 377-390.
Short, M., Isafiade, A.J., Fraser, D.M., Kravanja, Z., 2016, Synthesis of heat exchanger networks using mathematical programming and heuristics in a two-step optimisation procedure with detailed exchanger design, Chemical Engineering Science, 144, 372-385.
Crimes, J., Isafiade, A.J., Fraser, D.M., Short, M., Bonomi, A., 2016, Assessment of pre-treatment technologies for bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse considering economics and environmental impacts, Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering , 12 (2), 212–229.
Fraser, D.M., Short, M., Crimes, J., Azeez, O.S., Isafiade, A.J., 2016, A systematic comparison of stagewise/interval-based superstructure approaches for the optimal synthesis of heat exchange networks, Chemical Engineering Transactions , 52, 793-798.
Isafiade, A.J., Short, M., 2016, Synthesis of mass exchange networks for single and multiple periods of operations considering detailed cost functions and column performance, Process Safety and Environmental Protection , 103, 391-404.
Isafiade, A.J., Short, M., 2016, Multi-period heat exchanger network synthesis involving multiple sources of utilities and environmental impact, Caomputer-Aided Chemical Engineering, 38, 2067-2072.
Short, M., Isafiade, A.J., Fraser, D.M., Kravanja, Z., 2015, Heat exchanger network synthesis including detailed exchanger designs using mathematical programming and heuristics, Chemical Engineering Transactions , 45, 1849-1854.
Isafiade, A.J., Jegede, K., Cele, S., Crimes, J., Short, M., Wan Alwi, S.R., 2015, Synthesis of multiperiod multiple utilities heat exchanger networks considering economics and environmental impact, APCCHE 2015, 942.