CV

Qualifications

• 2022: PhD in Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Thesis: Dynamic physics-based flotation models for effective predictive control

• 2017: BEng and MSc in Chemical Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile

Thesis: Analysis of the effect of pressure and porosity on diffusion-controlled leaching

Work experience

• Jan 2024 - now: Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Brunel University London. I am the module leader of Process Systems Engineering (MEng) and Fluid Mechanics (BEng).

• 2021 - now: Co-founder and developer of BubbleAnalyser - the first open-source software for bubble size analysis.

• Dec 2022 -  Dec 2023: Research Associate in Process Systems Engineering, Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London.

• Dec 2022: Guest lecturer, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London. Module: Mining Geology & Engineering. 

• Nov 2022: Research Assistant in Froth Flotation, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London.

• Jun - Sept 2022: Co-supervisor of an MSc in Applied Computational Science student, Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London. Project: “Bubble Analyser - Identification and characterisation of bubbles using Machine Learning”.

• 2017-2018: Guest lecturer, Department of Chemical Engineering,  Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Santiago, Chile.:
  • Modules:
    1. Process Control Seminar: I taught basic theory on feedback control. The main part of this course was for students to set up an experimental rig from the calibration of instruments to its connection to PLCs, control logic, and create an HMI (human-machine interface) using Intouch Wonderware software.
    2. Statistical Design and Analysis of Industrial Experiments: Applied Statistics and probability for engineers, including continuous random variables and probability distributions, joint probability distributions, statistic intervals, test of hypotheses,  statistical inference for two samples, linear regression, and design of experiments with several factors.
• 2017-2018: Co-supervisor of two final-year engineering projects, Department of Chemical Engineering,  Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Santiago, Chile.
  • Projects:
    1. “Incorporation of disturbance estimation in real-time optimisation systems for process supervision”.
    2. “Implementation of nested modifier adaptation for real-time optimisation under disturbances”.
• 2017-2018: Research Assistant, Department of Chemical Engineering,  Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Santiago, Chile. Project: Including stochastic information in Real-Time Optimization for process supervision

Interships in Process Engineering:

• Jan/Feb 2014 - Jan/Feb 2016 INACAL S.A, Cementos Bío-Bío (Cement and Lime Industry), Copiapó, Chile.
• Aug/Sept 2016 Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (Petrochemical Industry), Concón, Chile.

Publications

A Proposal to Include the Information of Disturbances in Modifier Adaptation Methodology for Real Time Optimization Permalink

Navia, D., Puen, A., Quintanilla, P., Bergh, L., Briceño, L., & de Prada, C. (2018). A Proposal to Include the Information of Disturbances in Modifier Adaptation Methodology for Real Time Optimization. Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 43, 1081-1086. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64235-6.50189-3

On dealing with measured disturbances in the modifier adaptation method for real-time optimization Permalink

Navia, D., Puen, A., Quintanilla, P., Briceño, L., & Bergh, L. (2019). On dealing with measured disturbances in the modifier adaptation method for real-time optimization. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 128, 141-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2019.06.004

Modelling for froth flotation control: A review Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Neethling, S. J., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2021). Modelling for froth flotation control: A review. Minerals Engineering, 162, 106718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2020.106718

Development and Validation of a Dynamic Model for Flotation Predictive Control Incorporating Froth Physics Permalink

Quintanilla, P.; Neethling, S.J.; Brito-Parada, P.R. Development and Validation of a Dynamic Model for Flotation Predictive Control Incorporating Froth Physics. Mater. Proc. 2021, 5, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/materproc2021005013

A dynamic flotation model for predictive control incorporating froth physics. Part I: Model development Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Neethling, S. J., Navia, D., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2021). A dynamic flotation model for predictive control incorporating froth physics. Part I: Model development. Minerals Engineering, 173, 107192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107192

A dynamic flotation model for predictive control incorporating froth physics. Part II: Model calibration and validation Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Neethling, S. J., Mesa, D., Navia, D., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2021). A dynamic flotation model for predictive control incorporating froth physics. Part II: Model calibration and validation. Minerals Engineering, 173, 107190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107190

Bubble Analyser — An open-source software for bubble size measurement using image analysis Permalink

Mesa, D., Quintanilla, P., & Reyes, F. (2022). Bubble Analyser — An open-source software for bubble size measurement using image analysis. Minerals Engineering, 180, 107497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107497

A methodology to implement a closed-loop feedback-feedforward level control in a laboratory-scale flotation bank using peristaltic pumps Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Navia, D., Moreno, F., Neethling, S. J., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2023). A methodology to implement a closed-loop feedback-feedforward level control in a laboratory-scale flotation bank using peristaltic pumps. MethodsX, 10, 102081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2023.102081

Economic model predictive control for a rougher froth flotation cell using physics-based models Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Navia, D., Neethling, S. J., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2023). Economic model predictive control for a rougher froth flotation cell using physics-based models. Minerals Engineering, 196, 108050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2023.108050

Evaluation of Changes in Feed Particle Size within an Economic Model Predictive Control Strategy for Froth Flotation Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Navia, D., Neethling, S. J., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2023). Evaluation of Changes in Feed Particle Size within an Economic Model Predictive Control Strategy for Froth Flotation. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 56(2), 2317-2322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1200

Grey-box Recursive Parameter Identification of a Nonlinear Dynamic Model for Mineral Flotation Permalink

González, R. A., & Quintanilla, P. (2024). Grey-box Recursive Parameter Identification of a Nonlinear Dynamic Model for Mineral Flotation. IEEE, 10th International Conference on Control, Decision and Information Technologies (CoDIT), pp. 2967-2972, doi: 10.1109/CoDIT62066.2024.10708161

Experimental Implementation of an Economic Model Predictive Control for Froth Flotation Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Navia, D., Neethling, S., & Brito-Parada, P. (2024). Experimental Implementation of an Economic Model Predictive Control for Froth Flotation. Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 53, 1759-1764. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-28824-1.50294-5

Digital twin with automatic disturbance detection for an expert-controlled SAG mill Permalink

Quintanilla, P., Fernández, F., Mancilla, C., Rojas, M., & Navia, D. (2025). Digital twin with automatic disturbance detection for an expert-controlled SAG mill. Minerals Engineering, 220, 109076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2024.109076