Dr Khaled Laib

Khaled joined the School of Engineering of the University of Leicester, UK, as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Control Engineering in October 2023. He is the programme director of the MSc Embedded Systems and Control.

Khaled is interested in fundamental control theory focusing on analysing, modelling and controlling complex systems and large-scale networks. He was a member of control groups in several institutions: University of Cambridge, Grenoble-INP and École Centrale de Lyon.

Khaled received his PhD in Systems and Control from École Centrale de Lyon, France in 2017,  under the supervision of Professor Gerard Scorletti, his MSc in Control and Automation from INSA Lyon, France in 2013 and  the  Dipl. Ing in Automatic Control from École Nationale Polytechnique, Algeria in 2011.

From 2018 to 2022, he was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with the Control Group at the University of Cambridge, UK,  funded by the ERC starting grant 679774 and working with Professor Ioannis Lestas on various fundamental control problems related to complex and large-scale networks focusing on power systems and smart grids.

Before joining the University of Cambridge,  he was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with the Control Group at Grenoble INP, France, where he spent one year working with Prof Olivier Sename on vehicle platooning control techniques.

Control Theory

• Analysis, modelling, and robust control of uncertain and nonlinear dynamical systems using convex optimisation and LMI-based approaches.
• Passivity-based and dissipativity-based control frameworks for stability and performance guarantees.
• Advanced robust analysis and control techniques: Lyapunov methods, μ-analysis, KYP lemma, IQCs, S-procedure, SOS techniques, LPV control, robust H∞, and multi-objective control frameworks.

Complex and Large-Scale Networked Systems

• Decomposition, representation, and interconnection modelling of large-scale networks using graph theory and LFT frameworks.
• Decentralised and scalable control design for interconnected and heterogeneous networks.
• Robustness analysis and stability assessment of complex networked systems.
• Synchronization and cooperative control in multi-agent and networked systems.

Convex Optimisation in Control Design

• Development and application of efficient convex optimisation and LMI-based tools.
• Algorithms and frameworks ensuring reliable performance and stability under uncertainty.

Applications

Mechatronic and electrical systems, robotics, UAVs, PLL networks, power systems, and vehicle platoons (CACC).

Industrial Collaborations

Liebherr Aerospace – Safety-critical control systems for bleed air and air management systems.

Selected control journals and conferences. For more publications, please refer to my Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=WPgJl40AAAAJ

• K. Laib, J. Watson, Y. Ojo and I. Lestas, ”Decentralized Stability Conditions for DC Microgrids: Beyond passivity approaches,” in Automatica, vol. 149, pp. 110705, March, 2023.
• K. Laib, A. Korniienko, M. Dinh, G. Scorletti, and F. Morel, ”Hierarchical robust performance analysis of uncertain large scale systems,” in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, vol. 63, no. 7, pp. 2075-2090, July, 2018.
• M. Li, K. Laib, T. Hatanaka and I. Lestas, ”Convergence Rate Bounds for the Mirror Descent Method: IQCs, Popov Criterion and Bregman Divergence,” in Automatica,  vol. 171, pp. 111973, January, 2025.
• Y. Ojo and K. Laib, ”Scalable polytopic control design for a nonlinear grid-forming inverter model,” in IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1163-1175, March 2025.
• Y. Ojo, K. Laib and I. Lestas, ”On the synchronization of the Kuramoto-type model of oscillators with lossy couplings,” in IEEE Control Systems Letters, vol. 7, pp. 1225-1230, January, 2023.
•  Y. Ojo, J. Watson, K. Laib and I. Lestas, A Distributed Scheme for Voltage and Frequency Control and Power Sharing in Inverter-Based Microgrids,” in IEEE Transactions on Control System Technology, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 1679-1691, July, 2023.
•  K. Laib, M.T. Pham, X. Lin-Shin, and R. Meghnous, ”Average Modeling and Nonlinear Observer Design for Pneumatic Actuators With On/Off Solenoid Valves,” in Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, vol. 144, no. 2, February, 2022.
• J. D. Watson, Y. Ojo, K. Laib, and I. Lestas, ”Scalable Control Design for Grid-Forming Inverters in Microgrids,” in IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 4726-4739, November, 2021.
•  M. Li, K. Laib and I. Lestas, ”Convergence Rate Bounds for the Mirror Descent Method: IQCs and the Bregman Divergence,” in Proceedings of the 2022 61st of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control pp. 6326-6331, Cancun, Mexico, December, 2022.
• K. Laib, J. Watson, Y. Ojo and I. Lestas, ”Decentralized Stability Conditions in DC Microgrids,” in Proceedings of the 2021 60th of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, pp. 5659-5664, Austin, TX, USA, December, 2021.
• K. Laib, J. Watson and I. Lestas, ”Decentralized Stability Conditions for Inverter-Based Microgrids,” in Proceedings of the 2020 59th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, pp. 1341-1346, Jeju, Korea (South), December, 2020.
• K. Laib, O. Sename and L. Dugard, ”String Stable H∞ LPV Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control with a Variable Time Headway,” in Proceedings of the 21st IFAC World Congress, pp. 15140-15145, Berlin, Germany, July, 2020. 
• K. Laib, A. Korniienko, F. Morel, and G. Scorletti, ”LMI based approach for power flow analysis with uncertain power injection,” in Proceedings of the 9th IFAC Symposium on Robust  Control Design, pp. 310-315, Florianopolis, Brazil, September, 2018.
• M. A. Benlahrache, K. Laib, S. Othman, and N. Sheibat-Othman, ”Fault Tolerant Control of Wind Turbine Using Robust Model Predictive Min-Max Approach,” in Proceedings of the 20th IFAC World Congress, pp. 9902-9907, Toulouse, France, July, 2017.
  
• K. Laib, R. Meghnous, M.T. Pham, and X. Lin-Shin, ”Averaged state model and sliding mode observer for on/off solenoid valve pneumatic actuators,” in Proceedings of the 2016 American Control Conference, pp. 4569-4574, Boston, MA, USA, July, 2016.
• S. Boersma, A. Korniienko, K. Laib, and J.W van Wingerden, ”Robust performance analysis for a range of frequencies,” in Proceedings of the 2016 American Control Conference, pp. 5664-5670, Boston, MA, USA, July, 2016.
  
• K. Laib, A. Korniienko, G. Scorletti, and F. Morel, ”Phase IQC for the hierarchical performance analysis of uncertain large scale systems,” in Proceedings of the 2015 54th of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, pp. 5953-5958, Osaka, Japan, December, 2015.

Khaled warmly welcomes PhD students, Postdocs, and Visiting Researchers whose interests align with his research areas.

PhD Research Positions

Information about PhD applications at the School of Engineering at the University of Leicester can be found at the following link:  https://le.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/funded-opportunities.

Funding for PhD students is available from a number of sources, such as the China Scholarship Council (CSC), Commonwealth Scholarships, self-funding, and international funding schemes.

Candidates with strong mathematical and analytical skills, and a background in control theory, applied mathematics, electrical engineering,  or related disciplines, are especially encouraged to apply.

Postdoctoral Research Positions

There are no postdoctoral positions currently available. However, if you are interested in joining the research group for a postdoctoral role, funding may be accessible through established fellowship programs such as Marie Curie Individual and EPSRC Postdoctoral fellowships. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your research plans and funding options.

Academic Staff Research Visit

If you are interested in visiting my research group, please feel free to contact me. I am always open to discussing potential opportunities for you to conduct a short-term/long-term research visit with the group.

• EG2232 Signals and Systems
• EG7042 Robust Control
• EG7044 Nonlinear Control
• EG4313/EG7015 Rotorcraft Mechanics and Control.