Bilkent University
Mechanical Engineering Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bilkent University
06800 Bilkent, Ankara
EA112
+90 (312) 290-3427
Dr. Melih Cakmakci completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of Michigan. His research areas include modeling, analysis and control of dynamic systems with emphasis on understanding and utilizing the interaction among sub-systems and sub-problems. Prior to joining Bilkent University, he worked at Ford Scientific Research Center over 10 years. He has participated in research projects on the design of renewable manufacturing systems, development of modular alternative powertrain technologies including fuel cell and hybrid electric vehicles, which were supported by the National Science Foundation, University of Michigan, Departments of Energy of the USA and Germany, Ford, Daimler and Ballard. His current research is supported with grants from Turkish and European institutions. Dr. Cakmakci’s personal interests include sports, documentaries and books on current affairs.
Melih recently co-authored a book on development and analysis of vehicle control algorithms with Profs. Galip Ulsoy and Huei Peng of University of Michigan titled Automotive Control Systems published by Cambridge University Press.
B.S. METU, Mechanical Eng. (1997)
M.S. University of Michigan, Mechanical Eng. (1999)
Ph.D. University of Michigan, Mechanical Eng. (2009)
Dr. Cakmakci and his research group conduct research on design and control of smart mechatronic systems specializing on the interaction among sub-systems and sub-design problems. As the use of new technologies such as networks and embedded systems increases in control systems, extensions of the existing problem formulations for widely used methods (such as optimal control design; robust control design and adaptive control design) are needed so that benefits from using these technologies are maximized. Improvements on actuator and sensor technologies provide engineers and researchers opportunities for formulating and solving control design problems in alternative ways so that better performing systems can be built. Melih's doctoral research at the University of Michigan focused on improving component swapping modularity which benefits from the availability of networks and on-board computing capabilities in control system components. His research group currently involved in projects on designing modular mechatronic systems, scalable energy management solutions as well as traditional control problems applied to next generation automotive and micro-manufacturing related control systems.
For the latest information about Dr. Çakmakcı's research please visit the Smart Mechanical Systems website.