Control Systems Society Research Articles

Minutes of the IEEE Control Systems Society Board of Governors Meeting [CSS Business

Minutes of the IEEE Control Systems Society Board of Governors Meeting [CSS Business

HarrisFest [Conference Reports

In May 22, 2010, a symposium in honor of Harris McClamroch was held at the University of Michigan to celebrate Harris's lifelong achievements in nonlinear dynamics and control on the occasion of his retirement. Since receiving his doctoral degree at the University of Texas, Austin, in 1967, Harris has been a faculty member in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan. He is a former editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control and a former president of the IEEE Control Systems Society. Additional professional activities include program chair, 1994 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, and general chair, 1999 IEEE Conference on Control Applications. In -recognition of his outstanding contributions, he received the IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000. He is also a member of AIAA, SIAM, and AAAS. He advised 27 doctoral students over his 43-year career.

From Hard Copy to Electronic [President's Message

Recently, I pondered the following question: Is the future of books to be fully electronic, as many of us believe, or is the answer not so simple? This editorial will try to address this question and analyze its impact on the publications of the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS). A book published last year and coauthored by Jean-Claude Carrière and Umberto Eco (the author of the best seller The Name of the Rose) makes an attempt to answer this question from a philosopher's perspective. The book is available in French and in Italian, and its title can be freely translated as Don't Even Think to Get Rid of the Books The point made by the authors seems clear: “The book is like the spoon, the hammer, the wheel, and the scissors—once invented, they cannot be improved upon.” However, what do we mean by a book? Are we referring to a book as a set of words or to its physical support, which may be in paper or in electronic form?

25 Years Ago

In this issue, “25 Years Ago” revisits some history of the IEEE Control Systems Society from the IEEE Centennial Lecture presented at the 1984 CDC by Stephen Kahne, “Where Is the Beef?” IEEE Control Systems Magazine, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 3–8, May 1985. Contributed by Kent Lundberg.

Internationalization and Globalization [President's Message

I would like to thank the members of the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) for giving me the opportunity to serve as its 44th president for 2010. I feel particularly flattered because I am the first CSS president affiliated to a non-Anglo-Saxon institution since the Society was created in 1954. I will do my best to continue along the path that has already been established by my distinguished predecessors. Trying to get a "good start" into my president's year, I decided to spend the fall semester of 2009 in the United States. Indeed, the present article was written in early October during my stay at the Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). While visiting UIUC I had the pleasure of being involved in various research activities and teaching a graduate-level course focused on design methods using randomized algorithms. I believe that CSL holds a record number of four CSS presidents: Joe Cruz (1979), Bill Perkins (1985), Tamer Basar (2000), and Mark Spong (2005).

Minutes of the IEEE Control Systems Society Board of Governors meeting [CSS news

Minutes of the IEEE Control Systems Society Board of Governors meeting [CSS news

Minutes of the IEEE Control Systems Society Board of Governors meeting [CSS news

Minutes of the IEEE Control Systems Society Board of Governors meeting [CSS news

The power of continuation--CSS quarter century members

Ibecame the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) vice-president, Member Activities (VPMA) in January 2009. In a tradition initiated by Elena Valcher, past VPMA, we continue to recognize the contributions of CSS members of 25 years. Thus far we have recognized 998 members who have been CSS members for 25 years or more. This year, it is our pleasure to add 88 new members. Congratulations to all of these quarter century honorees for their longterm involvement and continuing support of CSS! I believe that continuation is a great power for participation in activities in CSS. The ongoing activities of these members have played an important role within CSS in a variety of aspects, such as conferences, workshops, technical committees, and editorships. The CSS covers diverse research areas, and most fields of engineering and science require advanced control theory and sophisticated methodologies for control system design. In the 1960s, process control was a major interest. In the 1970s, our focus moved to applications in electrical engineering fields such as power network control. In the 1980s, advanced robust and nonlinear control theory was applied to mechanical systems, including robotics, aerospace engineering, and hard disk drive systems. Influenced by the rapid progress of communication and internet technologies, our interests in the 1990s moved to control systems through networks and large-scale systems connected by appropriate communications. In this century, our collaborations have once again expanded, with quantum control and bio control sharing a focus. This quick historical review on control applications suggests that we need to recruit more people from other research areas in science and technology. I am sure that effective collaboration between control members and people in other fields will help achieve initiatives for future technology. Promoting this goal is one of my responsibilities as the vice president for Member Activities. We need both the power of continuation from current members and innovation by newcomers for the continuing progress of CSS.

Technical committee on industrial process control

This column focuses on the activities of the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) technical committees (TCs). In addition to providing information about the activities of a selected TC, this column is a call for participation and contributions by researchers with related interests.

Clear leadership [Random Inputs

An aesthetic interpretation of the logo of the IEEE Control Systems Society. Artwork by Haoyun Fu.

Minutes of the Control Systems Society Board of Governors Meeting

Minutes of the Control Systems Society Board of Governors Meeting

Parting Thoughts [President's Message

This is my last column as president of the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS). It has been a busy, yet enjoyable, experience, and one of those enjoyable moments is sharing observations with you in this column on issues that affect our Society.

Technical committee on intelligent control [Technical Committee Activities

The IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) Technical Activities Board met at the 2008 American Control Conference in Seattle on Wednesday June 11, 2008. In attendance were Richard Braatz, Michael Demetriou, Jay Farrell, Shuzhi Sam Ge, Mustafa Khammash, Daniel Rivera, and Andy Teel. One of the main topics of discussion was the role of the technical committees (TCs) in organizing the technical program of the various CSS conferences. In particular, the TCs have played a significant role in motivating, creating, and organizing the Multiconference on Systems and Control (MSC).

Developing countries conference support program [Member Activities

The new IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) Developing Countries Conference Support (DCCS) Program will run as a pilot program during 2008-2010. The purpose of DCCS is to promote research in control systems engineering and theory in developing countries by supporting, intellectually and financially, conferences that take place in these countries. To be eligible, a conference for which the support is requested must be held in a country that belongs to the list of developing countries (at the time the request is made) and must receive CSS sponsorship or technical cosponsorship. A list of developing countries is provided by the World Bank, at http://web.worldbank.org. Evaluation is based on quality and on the conference organizers' plans for outreach and impact in developing nations. Support provided may not exceed US$20,000 for each conference and may not exceed 50% of the budgeted conference expenditure. Supported conferences must acknowledge financial support of the CSS. The DCCS budget is US$40,000 per year.

The legacy of George S. Axelby [President's Message

Our Society lost one of its dear friends and pioneers this past June. George S. Axelby died in his home after a prolonged illness. George Axelby was a graduate of the University of Connecticut and Yale and worked for Westinghouse in its Aerospace Division in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the founding editor of IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control in 1956 and the founding editor of the IFAC journal Automatica in 1968. He was a member of the first group of recipients of the IEEE Control Systems Society Distinguished Member Award in 1983, a recipient of the IFAC Outstanding Service Award, and a Fellow of the IEEE. However, this brief summary barely touches on the impact that George Axelby had on our field.

The Internet and Education [President's Message

Discusses the impact of the Internet on education and on the IEEE Control Systems Society.

CSS news - Minutes of the CSS Board of Governors Meeting

The IEEE Control Systems Society's (CSS) Board of Governors (BoG) met on 11 December 2005 in Seville, Spain. The minutes from that meeting are presented.

Amazing technology [Random inputs

An aesthetic interpretation of the logo of the IEEE Control Systems Society. Artwork by Sam Bernstein

CSS news - Minutes of the CSS board of governors meeting

The IEEE Control Systems Society's (CSS) Board of Governors (BoG) met on 11 December 2005 in Seville, Spain. The minutes from that meeting are presented.

Technical Committees within the IEEE Control Systems Society

Technical Committees within the IEEE Control Systems Society