Scott A. Bortoff
- Phone: 617-621-7533
- Email:
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Position:
Research / Technical Staff
Chief Scientist -
Education:
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1992 -
Research Areas:
External Links:
Scott's Quick Links
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Biography
Scott's research interests are in applications of nonlinear and optimal control theory to motion control, path planning and process control problems. Before joining MERL in 2009, Scott led the Controls Group at the United Technology Research Center and previously was an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto.
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Recent News & Events
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TALK [MERL Seminar Series 2023] Prof. Faruque Hasan presents talk titled A Process Systems Engineering Perspective on Carbon Capture: Key Challenges and Opportunities Date & Time: Tuesday, September 19, 2023; 1:00 PM
Speaker: Faruque Hasan, Texas A&M University
MERL Host: Scott A. Bortoff
Research Areas: Applied Physics, Machine Learning, Multi-Physical Modeling, OptimizationAbstract
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is a promising pathway to decarbonize fossil-based power and industrial sectors and is a bridging technology for a sustainable transition to a net-zero emission energy future. This talk aims to provide an overview of design and optimization of CCUS systems. I will also attempt to give a brief perspective on emerging interests in process systems engineering research (e.g., systems integration, multiscale modeling, strategic planning, and optimization under uncertainty). The purpose is not to cover all aspects of PSE research for CCUS but rather to foster discussion by presenting some plausible future directions and ideas.
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NEWS MERL presents 9 papers at 2023 IFAC World Congress Date: July 9, 2023 - July 14, 2023
MERL Contacts: 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.
See All News & Events for Scott -
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MERL Publications
- , "Robust Unfalsified Control of a Heat Pump", IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA), August 2025.BibTeX TR2025-128 PDF
- @inproceedings{Bortoff2025aug,
- author = {Bortoff, Scott A. and Tsuji, Kosei},
- title = {{Robust Unfalsified Control of a Heat Pump}},
- booktitle = {IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA)},
- year = 2025,
- month = aug,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2025-128}
- }
- , "Time-Series Generative Networks for Synthesizing Realistic Scenarios in Occupant-Centric Building Simulation", Building Simulation, DOI: 10.1007/s12273-025-1260-8, April 2025.BibTeX TR2025-043 PDF
- @article{Chakrabarty2025apr,
- author = {Chakrabarty, Ankush and Vanfretti, Luigi and Wang, Ye and Mineyuki, Takuma and Zhan, Sicheng and Tang, Wei-Ting and Paulson, Joel A. and Deshpande, Vedang M. and Bortoff, Scott A. and Laughman, Christopher R.},
- title = {{Time-Series Generative Networks for Synthesizing Realistic Scenarios in Occupant-Centric Building Simulation}},
- journal = {Building Simulation},
- year = 2025,
- month = apr,
- doi = {10.1007/s12273-025-1260-8},
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2025-043}
- }
- , "Fluid Property Functions in Polar and Parabolic Coordinates", American Modelica Conference, October 2024.BibTeX TR2024-144 PDF
- @inproceedings{Bortoff2024oct,
- author = {Bortoff, Scott A. and Laughman, Christopher R. and Deshpande, Vedang M. and Qiao, Hongtao},
- title = {{Fluid Property Functions in Polar and Parabolic Coordinates}},
- booktitle = {American Modelica Conference},
- year = 2024,
- month = oct,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-144}
- }
- , "Assessing Building Control Performance Using Physics-Based Simulation Models and Deep Generative Networks", IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) 2024, DOI: 10.1109/CCTA60707.2024.10666585, August 2024.BibTeX TR2024-113 PDF
- @inproceedings{Chakrabarty2024aug,
- author = {Chakrabarty, Ankush and Vanfretti, Luigi and Bortoff, Scott A. and Deshpande, Vedang M. and Wang, Ye and Paulson, Joel A. and Zhan, Sicheng and Laughman, Christopher R.},
- title = {{Assessing Building Control Performance Using Physics-Based Simulation Models and Deep Generative Networks}},
- booktitle = {IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) 2024},
- year = 2024,
- month = aug,
- doi = {10.1109/CCTA60707.2024.10666585},
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-113}
- }
- , "Modeling and Control of a Multi-Mode Heat Pump", IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) 2024, August 2024.BibTeX TR2024-111 PDF
- @inproceedings{Bortoff2024aug,
- author = {Bortoff, Scott A. and Qiao, Hongtao and Laughman, Christopher R.},
- title = {{Modeling and Control of a Multi-Mode Heat Pump}},
- booktitle = {IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) 2024},
- year = 2024,
- month = aug,
- url = {https://www.merl.com/publications/TR2024-111}
- }
- , "Robust Unfalsified Control of a Heat Pump", IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA), August 2025.
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Software & Data Downloads
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Videos
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MERL Issued Patents
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Title: "System and Method for Controlling a Motion of a Robot"
Inventors: Lin, Chungwei; Wang, Yebin; Quirynen, Rien; Jha, Devesh; Wang, Bingnan; Vetterling, William; Jain, Siddarth; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 12,257,718
Issue Date: Mar 25, 2025 -
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: "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: "Motion Controller for Real-Time Continuous Curvature Path Planning"
Inventors: Bortoff, Scott A.; Wang, Yebin; Dai, Jin
Patent No.: 10,591,915
Issue Date: Mar 17, 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: "Control of Redundant Laser Processing Machines"
Inventors: Di Cairano, Stefano; Haghighat, Sohrab; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 10,307,863
Issue Date: Jun 4, 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: "Method and System for Controlling Angular Speeds of Motors in Speed Sensorless Induction Motors"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,985,563
Issue Date: May 29, 2018 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Vapor Compression Systems"
Inventors: Burns, Daniel J; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,915,456
Issue Date: Mar 13, 2018 -
Title: "Control of Processing Machines with Redundant Actuators"
Inventors: Di Cairano, Stefano; Goldsmith, Abraham M.; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,744,620
Issue Date: Aug 29, 2017 -
Title: "System and Method for Calibrating Laser Processing Machines"
Inventors: Goldsmith, Abraham M.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Sullivan, Alan; Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, John C.
Patent No.: 9,718,146
Issue Date: Aug 1, 2017 -
Title: "Method and System for Computing Reference Signals for Machines with Redundant Positioning"
Inventors: Haghighat, Sohrab; Di Cairano, Stefano; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,696,709
Issue Date: Jul 4, 2017 -
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: "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: "Motion-Control System for Performing Different Tasks"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Jiang, Yu; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,529,341
Issue Date: Dec 27, 2016 -
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: "Optimization of System Control Based on Solving Multi-Point Boundary Value Problems"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,378,469
Issue Date: Jun 28, 2016 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Redundant Actuators of a Machine"
Inventors: Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,261,872
Issue Date: Feb 16, 2016 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Semi-Active Actuators Arranged to Minimize Vibration in Elevator Systems"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,242,837
Issue Date: Jan 26, 2016 -
Title: "Determining Trajectories of Redundant Actuators Jointly Tracking Reference Trajectory"
Inventors: Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Brand, Matthew E.; Srikanth, Manohar; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,170,580
Issue Date: Oct 27, 2015 -
Title: "Elevator Rope Sway Estimation"
Inventors: Benosman, Mouhacine; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,096,411
Issue Date: Aug 4, 2015 -
Title: "Method for Determining Trajectory of Multi-Motor Control System Avoiding Obstacle"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Yu, Han; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,076,337
Issue Date: Jul 7, 2015 -
Title: "Elevator Rope Sway Estimation"
Inventors: Benosman, Mouhacine; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 9,045,313
Issue Date: Jun 2, 2015 -
Title: "Cabling Configuration for Railless Elevators"
Inventors: Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, III, John C.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Katz, Joseph
Patent No.: 8,978,831
Issue Date: Mar 17, 2015 -
Title: "Laser Cutting Machine"
Inventors: Yerazunis, William S.; Barnwell, III, John C.; Bortoff, Scott A.; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Goldsmith, Abraham M.
Patent No.: 8,921,734
Issue Date: Dec 30, 2014 -
Title: "Controller for Reducing Vibrations in Mechanical Systems"
Inventors: Benosman, Mouhacine; Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 8,855,826
Issue Date: Oct 7, 2014 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Semi-Active Actuators Arranged to Minimize Vibration in Elevator Systems"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 8,849,465
Issue Date: Sep 30, 2014 -
Title: "An Energy Efficient Motion Control System"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Koichiro, Ueda; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 8,816,627
Issue Date: Aug 26, 2014 -
Title: "System and Method for Controlling Semi-Active Actuators"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 8,768,522
Issue Date: Jul 1, 2014 -
Title: "Method for Generating Trajectories for Motor Controlled Actuators"
Inventors: Wang, Yebin; Bortoff, Scott A.; Zhao, Yiming
Patent No.: 8,700,190
Issue Date: Apr 15, 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 -
Title: "Base Vibration Attenuation and Load Tracking in Mechanical System"
Inventors: Shilpiekandula, Vijay; Bortoff, Scott A.
Patent No.: 8,513,906
Issue Date: Aug 20, 2013
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Title: "System and Method for Controlling a Motion of a Robot"
