Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao

Area of Study / Keywords

Advanced Alarm Systems Industrial Alarm Monitoring

---

About

Harikrishna Rao (Hari) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Advanced Alarm Management and Design Group, supervised by Dr. Tongwen Chen. He is also guided by Dr. Sirish L. Shah. His research focuses on advanced data-driven solutions for the improvement of industrial alarm systems. He aims to develop reliable decision support systems that improve operations and reduce operator workload in the process industries. He received his B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kerala in 2012, where he was awarded the Proficiency Prize for the Best Outgoing Student. His undergraduate project was completed at the Indian Space Research Organization. Hari joined the graduate program at the University of Alberta with over seven years of industrial experience in process control and automation, alarm management, and fault detection in the utility-scale SOFC industry in the U.S., India, Japan, and South Korea. Hari was recently awarded the IEEE Systems Council James O. Gray Graduate Scholarship. He is actively involved with IEEE and the International Society of Automation. He is also passionate about tennis (Roger Federer fan forever!).  

Do you like to play Tennis? Or feel like talking to someone (about life/school/work/why the world works the way it works/other existential questions or vent out) -- Send an email to mohanrao@ualberta.ca.

---

Research

Research Interests: Industrial Alarm Monitoring and Advanced Alarm Systems.

During his tenure in the industry, Hari's work focused on Alarm Management and Fault Detection. He also holds two patent-approved invention disclosures classified as Trade-Secrets in the field of early detection and prediction (online implementation) of abnormality and component failures using process data, and he was the youngest employee to do so. His current research interests fall within the area of intelligent process monitoring and control of large-scale processes. 

Posters:

• FGSR Innovation Showcase (May 25, 2022) - Student and Postdoctoral Innovations from YEG Postsecondary Institutions
• Images of Research University of Alberta (2023) - From Stargazing to Safety: Exploring Alarm Constellations in Chemical Processes

Invited Talks, Presentations, and Demonstrations (representing AAMD Research Group):

• Webinar entitled "Advances in Alarm Management Tools Developed at the University of Alberta" by Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao*, and Sirish L. Shah, organized by Process Management & Control Special Interest Group, Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) on Oct 25, 2022.
• Speaker at the Automation Expo and Conference, organized by the International Society of Automation (Edmonton Section), Date: April 5 & 6, 2022. Title: "The Latest Alarm Analytics Tools Developed by the University of Alberta".
• Co-speaker (along with Dr. Tongwen Chen) and Demonstrator of Alarm Management Toolbox at Data-Driven Smart Systems (DDSS) International Workshop, Hiroshima, Japan. Date: July 6-7, 2023. Organized by Digital Manufacturing Education Research Centre (DMERC), Graduate School of Advanced Science and  Engineering - Hiroshima University.
• Speaker at the Workshop on Data Analytics, Causality Inference, and Deep Learning Techniques for Intelligent Alarm Monitoring at the 22nd IFAC World Congress 2023, Yokohama, Japan, on July 8, 2023. Title: "Intelligent Alarm Management Toolbox Developed at the University of Alberta".
• Speaker at the Autonomous Systems Initiative Symposium - "Automated Futures", University of Alberta, Edmonton on September 14-15, 2023. Title: "Toward Intelligent Monitoring of Industrial Systems Using UofA’s Alarm Management Toolbox (AMTool)".
• Co-presenter (along with Dr. Sirish L. Shah) and Demonstrator of  Alarm Management Toolbox at the Alarm Data Analytics & Panel Discussion, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India. Date: Jan 31, 2024. Organized by the Centre of Excellence in Oil, Gas and Energy, IIT Bombay, India.
• Webinar session entitled "MATLAB-based Alarm Management Tools Developed at the University of Alberta", by Sirish L. Shah, Tongwen Chen, and Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao, as a part of the AI and Predictive Maintenance in Chemical Engineering Webinar Series, organized by Mathworks Inc. on March 05, 2024.

---

Teaching

• Lead Teaching Assistant: ENGG 160 Introduction to Engineering Design, Communication, and Profession - Winter 2024
• Teaching Assistant (LEC): ECE 460 Control Systems II - Winter 2024
• Teaching Assistant (LAB): ECE 209 Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering - Fall 2023
• Teaching Assistant: ENGG 160 Introduction to Engineering Design, Communication, and Profession - Winter 2023 (Control System Architecture Design)
• Teaching Assistant (LEC): ECE 209 Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering - Fall 2022
• Teaching Assistant: ENGG 160 Introduction to Engineering Design, Communication, and Profession - Winter 2022 (Control System Architecture Design)
• Teaching Assistant (LEC): ECE 360 Control Systems I - Fall 2021
• Teaching Assistant (LEC): ECE 209A, ECE 209B Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering - Spring/Summer 2021
• Teaching Assistant (LEC): ECE 209 Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering - Winter 2021

Other Engagements:

At the University of Alberta, Hari has been selected/nominated to serve in various councils and student representative organizations in judiciary, advisory, and leadership roles. He aims to improve the student experience, outreach of the resources, foster meaningful connections, and create a sense of belongingness among the community.

• President, International Society of Automation - University of Alberta Students Section (2023-'24)
• Graduate Panel Member, University Appeal Board (UAB) 2022-'24 
• Graduate Student Member, UofA Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP) Support Team (2023-'24) - Read the plan here "Igniting Purpose - The SEAP"
• International Students Advisory Council (ISAC), 2020-'21, 2021-'22, 2022-'23
• Student Library Advisory Council (SLAC), 2020-'21, 2021-'22, 2022-'23, 2023-'24
• Office of the Registrar's Student Advisory Committee - 2022-'23, 2023-'24.
• Dean of Students Advisory Committee (DAC), 2020-'21, 2023-'24
• University of Alberta International Students' Association (UAISA) as the Vice President- Academic Affairs during 2021-'22, and the Director (Student Engagement) during 2020-'21
• Member, Hybrid Delivery Project Team at the Faculty of Engineering (Fall 2021)

External Engagements:

• Hari is an active member of the International Society of Automation. Besides being the Student Section President, he is a member (by appointment) of the Student Guardian Committee, Education and Research Division (global).
• Reviewer, Control Engineering Practice (Elsevier)
• IEEE Technical Community on Learning Technology (TCLT) - where he was involved in interviewing industrial experts and publishing review articles in the Bulletin of the Technical Committee on Learning Technology.
• Judge, 2024 Edmonton Regional Science Fair
• Invited Panelist, UAlberta International - Global Learning EDI.

He has been nominated by the Dean of Students to represent the University of Alberta at the Healthy Campus Alberta Wellness Summit 2023, recognizing his contributions to the advocacy for mental health and wellness on campus. He is one of the 20 creative artists from the University of Alberta to be featured in "Happiness Reflected", a community creative project and a limited series podcast released as a part of the 2024 International Day of Happiness.

Useful Links

• Campus Resources under Vice-Provost and Dean of Students
• Helpful Resources for Students
• Wellness Resources from the University of Alberta Students' Union (UASU)
• Mindfulness Resources from UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao, Boyuan Zhou, Kevin Brown, Tongwen Chen, Sirish L. Shah

Control Engineering Practice. 2024 February; 10.1016/j.conengprac.2023.105812

---

Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao; Sirish L. Shah; Tongwen Chen

IFAC-PapersOnLine. 2023 November; 56 (2):7154-7159 10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.595

---

Nicola Tamascelli; Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao; Valerio Cozzani; Nicola Paltrinieri; Tongwen Chen

IECON 2023- 49th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society. 2023 November; 10.1109/IECON51785.2023.10312435

---

Harikrishna Rao Mohan Rao; Boyuan Zhou; Tongwen Chen; Sirish L. Shah

2022 American Control Conference (ACC). 2022 September; 10.23919/ACC53348.2022.9867665

---

View additional publications