IEEE Control Talk Series: Bridging Academia and Industry: Fall 2025

Funded by the IEEE CSS Diversity, Outreach & Development Activities Board

The IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS), Cleveland Chapter, organized two seminar events on October 14 and October 17, 2025, collaborating with the IEEE HKN and IEEE Women in Engineering student organizations at Cleveland State University.

The October 14 seminar featured Dr. Anusree Mandali, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lafayette College. Dr. Mandali earned both her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cleveland State University. Her research focuses on robust and intelligent controllers for uncertain systems and printed sensors, and she has published widely in journals and conference proceedings.

In her talk, Dr. Mandali discussed soft grippers, a branch of soft robotics that leverages deformable materials for adaptive and safe manipulation in areas such as healthcare, food handling, and manufacturing. She highlighted the current challenges in autonomy, scalability, and sensing-control integration for soft robotic systems. Dr. Mandali also reflected on her journey pursuing an academic career, sharing the challenges she has overcome as an early-career faculty member.

A total of 58 students, faculty, and local engineers from the Greater Cleveland area attended this event, including 26 IEEE members. Following her presentation, Dr. Mandali held an engaging Q&A session and participated in a raffle drawing. Winners received an IEEE CSS Cleveland-chapter T-shirt. The event was very well received. One of the attendees commented, “Dr. Mandali’s seminar gave me a deeper appreciation for electrical engineering and education. I especially liked how she transitioned from technical topics to her academic journey. Her talk sparked my interest in research and even made me consider pursuing a master’s or Ph.D. in the future.”

The October 17 seminar featured Mr. Kevin Starr, who has nearly 40 years of experience in the design, implementation, and deployment of industrial control systems. He currently works at ABB, where he leads the global Quality Control System Service business in the Pulp and Paper division. Mr. Starr is widely recognized for his expertise in PID control and industrial automation technologies and has delivered numerous invited talks at IEEE and ISA conferences.

In his presentation, Mr. Starr shared key skills for long-term success in industry, strategies for professional development, and approaches to achieving healthy work–life integration. The seminar drew an audience of 77 attendees. During the session, Mr. Starr awarded signed copies of his book Single Loop Control Methods to participants who asked and answered questions. Food and refreshments were provided following the talk, and Mr. Starr continued conversations with students afterward.

This event also received exceptionally positive feedback. One student shared, “I found Mr. Starr’s lecture extremely motivating. His advice was: ‘Find the process, control the process, and tune the process.’ Breaking down such a complicated field into three steps made me feel like I can achieve anything.” Another noted, “Mr. Starr’s talk showed that being successful isn’t just about being the most advanced technically, but also about staying in control of your path, goals, and mindset. His perspective made me realize that I need to pursue the rest of my degree with both curiosity and balance.”

Both seminars were recorded. The video links are provided on the following links.

https://csuohio.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=629e9289-0be5-4cd4-9fb7-b37600ff7815

Https://csuohio.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=72d05f5d-b930-4b15-b02b-b37c017dfb2f