Mihail Mihaylov

Mihail Mihaylov, Ph.D.

Product Owner

Research profile

I am Product Owner at i.LECO, Belgium. My work helps enable intelligent Renewable Energy Communities tackle the challenges of the energy transition through innovative mechanisms and software.

Previously, I introduced NRGcoin - a decentralized mechanism for rewarding renewable energy, based on blockchain technology.

I am actively involved in the Blockchain ecosystem: previously the organizer of the Barcelona Bitcoin Community and currently the organizer of P2P.Gent blockchain meetup.

My previous functions: voluntary post-doctoral researcher at the AI lab of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium; senior research engineer at Enervalis, Belgium further advancing my NRGcoin concept towards real-world deployment; senior research scientist at Sensing & Control Systems in Barcelona, Spain, working on smart grids and the internet of things; post-doctoral researcher at the Combinatorial Optimisation and Decision Support (CODeS) Research Group, University of Leuven in Gent, Belgium, applying data mining techniques on real-world nurse rostering data from Belgian hospitals to improve the quality of the automatic generation of personnel schedules.

I collaborated with an independent research institute and developed techniques for distributed timetabling and geographical exam scheduling to facilitate course providers in planning their courses and exams.

During my Ph.D. I developed intelligent reinforcement learning algorithms for emergent coordination and self-organization of decentralized systems, such as wireless sensor networks.

Education

Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

2008 - 2012

Thesis title: "Decentralized Coordination in Multi-agent Systems". Graduated with Highest Distinction.

Focus: machine learning, wireless sensor networks, game theory, decentralized algorithms, multi-agent systems, collective behavior.

M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence

Maastricht University, The Netherlands

2007 - 2008

Thesis title: "Computational Mechanism Design for Wireless Sensor Networks". Received Leo Coolen Award for thesis. Graduated with Distinction.

Focus: mechanism design, wireless sensor networks, game theory, data mining, machine learning, probabilistic robotics, intelligent search techniques, optimization algorithms.

B.Sc. in Computer Engineering

Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany

2003 - 2007

Thesis title: "Mathematical Methods to Ascertain Flow-Curve Functions With the Help of Neural Networks".

Focus: Software development and testing, usability engineering, logical devices and digital systems, neural networks, regression analysis, basic electronic devices, design theory, physics.

Work Experience

Product Owner at i.LECO

July 2019 - present

Topics: Renewable Energy Communities, Smart grids, Blockchain, Energy transition

Founder and CEO at TicrTech

October 2017 - present

Topics: Blockchain, Crypto currencies, Hardware and Software development

Blockchain Architect at Enervalis

July 2017 - June 2019

Topics: NRGcoin, Smart grids, Blockchain, Demand response

Post-doctoral researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

October 2015 - June 2017

Topics: Smart grids, Demand response, Energy trading

Senior research scientist at Sensing & Control Systems

October 2013 - September 2015

Topics: Smart grids, Machine learning, Energy trading, IoT

Post-doctoral researcher at KU Leuven

September 2012 - September 2013

Topics: Data mining, Nurse rostering

Teaching Assistant at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

September 2010 - July 2012

Course: "Multi-agent Learning"

Ph.D. researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

April 2008 - July 2012

Topic: "Decentralized Coordination in Wireless Sensor Networks"

Teaching Assistant at Universität Duisburg-Essen

April 2006 - July 2006

Course: "Fundamentals of Computer Engineering 2"

Software Developer at EIDOLOGIC GmbH

March 2006 - June 2006

Software development in Borland Delphi

Volunteering

Voluntary researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

July 2017 - August 2019

Topics: NRGcoin, Smart grids, Blockchain, Demand response

Co-organizer of P2P.Gent bitcoin meetup

November 2015 - present

Responsibilities: PR with the community and businesses, scheduling meetings, arranging locations, finding speakers, giving talks

Organizer of Barcelona Bitcoin Community

November 2013 - September 2015

Responsibilities: PR with the community and businesses, scheduling meetings, arranging locations, finding speakers, giving talks

Voluntary researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

July 2012 - September 2013

Responsibilities: writing scientific papers, reviewing publications, preparing and giving tutorials and lectures, participating in projects

Specialities

Blockchain (ideology, technology, protocol, applications, currencies)

Smart Grids (policies, energy trading, auctions)

Simulations of complex multi-agent systems (Matlab, OMNeT++, Repast)

Reinforcement Learning (theory, applications)

Collective intelligence (emergent behavior, decentralized coordination)

Wireless Sensor Networks (hardware, communication/routing protocols)

Developing and writing proposals for funding (FP7, Horizon 2020)

Software development (Javascript, Java, C#, C++)

Technical Skills

  • OMNeT++
  • Matlab
  • Javascript, Node.js
  • Repast, Arena
  • C++, C#, Java
  • LaTeX
  • Circuit Maker
  • Eclipse, NetBeans
  • Arduino, Raspberry Pi

Language skills

  • English (fluent)
  • Dutch (very good)
  • German (outdated)
  • Spanish (deteriorating)
  • Bulgarian (native)

Soft Skills

Multicultural awareness

Design of posters and PowerPoint presentations

Public speaking at international events

Experienced in working independently as well as in a team

Managing small teams

Interests

  • Decentralized systems
  • Bitcoin & Blockchain
  • Renewable energy
  • Incentive mechanisms
  • Industrial problems
  • Robotics
  • Machine intelligence