Mohamad Bilal Baluch is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Control Systems Research Group within the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University. He is currently working on the EPSRC-funded AutoMPC project, where his work focuses on developing a reusable MATLAB/Simulink toolbox for model predictive control (MPC), including robust and linear parameter varying MPC methods, with consideration for code generation and deployment to real-time target hardware.
Before joining Loughborough University, Bilal undertook his PhD in Control Systems Engineering at the University of Southampton. His doctoral research focused on energy-efficient motion control for connected and autonomous electric vehicles, particularly trajectory planning and control for signalised intersections using Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) information. His work combined energy modelling, trajectory optimisation, MPC-based tracking control, and real-time experimental validation.
Prior to his academic research, Bilal spent more than six years in automotive research and development. He worked as a Research Engineer in the Transmission Design Division at AVTEC Limited from 2016 to 2018 and as a Lead Research Engineer in the Drivetrain Design Division at Maruti Suzuki India Limited from 2018 to 2022. His industrial work covered transmission and drivetrain development, vehicle efficiency, simulation, validation, and product development, and contributed to patented engineering innovations.
Qualifications
- 2022–2026: PhD in Control Systems Engineering, University of Southampton, UK. Thesis: Energy-Optimal Trajectory Planning for a Connected and Autonomous Electric Vehicle at Signalised Intersections
- 2012-2016: Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, India
Awards
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Studentship, University of Southampton, supporting complete doctoral research
- Mike Russell Alumni Fund Award, University of Southampton, supporting experimental validation during the PhD
- Director's Award, Doctoral College, University of Southampton, 2026: Highly Commended in the Special Commendation category for developing a Vehicle-in-the-Loop experimental research platform
Bilal's research interests include connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), energy-efficient vehicle control, model predictive control (MPC), intelligent transportation systems, trajectory optimisation, data-driven modelling, and real-time control implementation.
His doctoral research investigated energy-efficient control of CAVs in urban corridors. This included developing EV energy consumption models from real-world driving data, optimising vehicle trajectories using traffic signal information, and designing MPC-based longitudinal controllers for trajectory tracking.
He also has experience in experimental controller validation, including Hardware-in-the-Loop and Vehicle-in-the-Loop methods, integrating MATLAB/Simulink, dSPACE MicroAutoBox II, CAN/CAN-FD communication, and IPG CarMaker.
At Loughborough University, his current research focuses on translating robust and linear parameter varying MPC methods into a reusable MATLAB/Simulink software toolbox, with the aim of supporting implementation, code generation, and deployment of predictive controllers to real-time target hardware.
Grants and contracts
- 2026: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Loughborough University, Learning of Safety Critical Model Predictive Controllers for Autonomous Systems, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Grant EP/X015459/1.
- 2022: PhD Researcher, University of Southampton, Experimental Research on Energy Efficiency of Autonomous Electric Vehicles Considering Powertrain Characteristics, Traffic and V2X Communication, supported by the Royal Society, Grant RGS\R1\231218.