Yang Wang is currently a PhD Student in the Control and Power Research Group, working with Professor Thomas Parisini. She completed the MSc in Control Systems in 2014.
Where did you do your undergraduate degree and what was it in?
I did my undergraduate degree in Automation at Tongji University in Shanghai. In the first two years we learnt about general electrical engineering, and then in the third year we started learning about control systems.
Why did you choose Imperial College London?
Firstly, it’s one of the best colleges in the world. Secondly, I really like London. Also the speciality in engineering at Imperial attracted me, as I knew I would get to know lots of engineering students.
Why did you decide to do the Control MSc?
Because my major focussed on control theories, and I was pretty interested in that area. It seemed natural after my degree.
Could you give a summary of what your MSc involved?
The course is about all kinds of control theories. We looked at predictive control, linear and non-linear control. We had so many modules to choose from, and we could choose other modules from other research groups like Intelligent Systems and Networks, Communications and Signal Processing. I did one of the signalling courses, I didn’t take the exam but attended the lectures. We could only do 9 exams but could attend more courses.
My project was with Dr Moez Draief from the Intelligent Systems Networks Group, and it was about multipurpose network control, combined with control theories and networks, and it was quite fun.
What did you enjoy most about the MSc?
I really like the coursework aspects of the course. Coursework is not just fun, it also gives insights into how our theories will actually be used in industry. We learned to design controls of an airplane, which is quite amazing, you can actually see how these theories would affect the behaviour of the airplane. A lot of the time control is quite abstract and mathematical, which wouldn’t make sense if you didn’t have the projects to help you understand those abstract theories and see how useful they are.
Do you enjoy studying in London?
London is good except it’s a little bit expensive. There are so many museums, concerts, so much culture, that’s the most important thing. I like the atmosphere here, and the academic atmosphere at Imperial is also good, it is relaxed and you can talk to any professor you want to, they are all available.
What have you been doing since you completed your MSc?
After my Msc course, I joined the research group led by Professor Parisini. My PhD involves a wide range of topics in control theory, from system identification, adaptive control and fault diagnosis in both linear and nonlinear systems.
What would you like to do after finishing your PhD?
I think I want to do a postdoc, and find a job afterwards in a university. I like the freedom of an academic career, being able to do something different every day. I like that I can create something that can be used in real life.