Background

Dr Alena Puchkova joined DIAL in March 2014 as a research associate. She is working on research topics related to DisTAL (Disruption Tolerant Automated Lean Factories) project.

Alena graduated in 2009 from the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Russia, with a degree in applied mathematics and computer science. She received her PhD in 2013 from the Department of Optimal Control, MSU. The title of her PhD thesis is "Nonlinear Optimal Control Models in Biological Systems". The thesis investigates optimal strategies for fishery harvesting model with state constraint and microbial growth optimisation.

Dr Puchkova has industrial and international research experience, having worked as a research and technical associate with Norilsk Nickel Australia in Perth, Australia where she worked on modelling and understanding the parameter space which effects nickel price movements on a global scale. Alena also spent three months as an academic visitor at  the University of Western Australia and at the Curtin University in Australia.

Previously Alena worked as a research assistant at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, Austria. Alena worked on developing data-driven probabilistic models for predicting economic recessions, and models for optimising infrastructure applied to land-use in developed countries.

Research interest

• Mathematical modelling, optimisation, optimal control theory and their economic, biological and industrial applications
• Programming