1) “EVs as Mobile Energy Buffers: Joint Optimization of Energy Procurement, Fleet Routing, and Building Load Management” by Prasant Misra, TCS Research (December 20, 2025 14:00 – 15:00 hrs IST; Biological Science Auditorium, Division of Biological Sciences, IISc)
Abstract: The electrification of mobility is fundamentally reshaping energy demand across urban infrastructure and enterprise operations. Electric vehicles (EVs) are evolving beyond their traditional role as transport assets to become mobile energy buffers that are capable of dynamic interaction with buildings and the grid. This talk will present a unified approach to leveraging EVs for cost-effective energy management in two complementary domains: smart buildings and logistics operations. In the first part, we introduce a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework for the joint control of HVAC systems and EVs within buildings. By modeling EVs as stochastic buffers, the framework accounts for uncertain availability while maintaining thermal comfort and respecting state-of-charge constraints. This enables adaptive load shaping under time-of-day pricing regimes, leading to significant energy cost savings. The second part focuses on enterprise-level energy optimization, where EV fleet routing is tightly coupled with energy procurement decisions across multiple sources. We propose a hybrid iterative optimization framework that combines Genetic Algorithms for energy sourcing with the Coronavirus Herd Immunity Optimizer for fleet routing, ensuring scalability across diverse service locations and fleet sizes. Together, these frameworks demonstrate how EVs can be orchestrated as intelligent agents within cyber-physical systems for cost-effective operations.
Speaker Bio: Prasant Misra is a Senior Scientist in the Data and Decision Sciences division of TCS Research. He also serves as Visiting Faculty in the Department of Cyber Physical Systems at IISc, Bangalore. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from UNSW Sydney in 2012, and completed his Post-doctoral from RISE SICS (formerly the Swedish Institute of Computer Science) Stockholm in 2013. His current research is centered around modeling, optimization, and decision intelligence for operations management of urban mobility and infrastructure systems.
Over the last 18+ years of his professional journey, he has held research & visiting positions at CSIRO Australia, NICTA Australia, TIFR Mumbai, Universiteit Gent, ETH Zurich. For his work in the field of CPS/IoT, mobile systems, and electric mobility, he has been felicitated by numerous honors and awards, of which it is noteworthy to mention the MIT TR 35 – India “Top 10 Innovators under the age of 35 in India” and the TCS “Exemplary Contribution Award” in 2017; the ERCIM “Alain Bensoussan” and “Marie Curie” Fellowship in 2012; and the Australian Government’s AusAID “Australian Leadership Awards” in 2008.
He actively contributes to the broader scientific and professional community through his involvement with a wide range of academic, industry, and government bodies. He has served on the committees of leading professional organizations such as IEEE, ACM, and COMSNETS Association, and contributed to Government of India agencies like MeitY, as well as standard development organizations such as the Bureau of Indian Standards and ISO/IEC. He is currently the Chair-Elect (2025) of the IEEE Bangalore Section. He previously held leadership roles as the Founding Chair of the India chapter of ACM SIGMOBILE (2019–2020) and Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Bangalore Chapter (2022–2023), during which the chapter received the IEEE Computer Society’s global “Outstanding Chapter Award 2023”. He also plays an active advisory role in public technology policy and capacity-building initiatives. He chairs the Technical Subcommittee for IoT and serves as a project review and steering group member for both the NASSCOM-MeitY FutureSkills Prime program and MeitY’s Smart City 2.0 project. He has previously contributed to BIS and ISO/IEC standards development on Smart Cities and Infrastructure (2016–2018). On the editorial front, he currently serves as Area Editor for Elsevier’s Ad Hoc Networks Journal and Associate Editor for the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine. He previously served as Series Editor of IoT for IEEE Communications Magazine (2019–2022). He is an ACM Distinguished Speaker.
2) “Learning-Based Control: Integrating MPC and Reinforcement Learnign with MATLAB and Simulink” by Pranav Lad, MathWorks India (December 20, 2025 14:00 – 15:00 hrs IST; G22 (TCS SmartX Hub))
Abstract: Learning-based control is transforming the landscape of modern automation, enabling systems to adapt, optimize, and perform in complex, uncertain environments. This talk will provide an in-depth overview of learning-based control techniques, focusing on Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Reinforcement Learning (RL), and their seamless integration using MATLAB and Simulink.
Through practical demonstrations and case studies, attendees will discover how to design and simulate advanced control algorithms that combine the strengths of model-based and data-driven approaches. The session will cover key workflows, including controller design, and training, highlighting recent advancements and best practices.
Whether you are a researcher, educator, or practitioner, this session will equip you with the knowledge and tools to accelerate your journey in learning-based control using MATLAB and Simulink.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Pranav Lad is a Senior Customer Success Engineer at MathWorks, where he has been a member of the Education Team for over five years, based in Pune. He collaborates closely with academic institutions across India to accelerate research and enhance learning outcomes.
His technical expertise spans robotics, autonomous systems, vibrations, nonlinear dynamics, and artificial intelligence. His current focus is on the modeling and simulation of robotics and autonomous systems, with special emphasis on UAVs and automated driving. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay, where he also served as a research assistant, engaging with various industries on consulting projects. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pune.
