The problem of developing a systematic approach to the design of feed back strategies capable of shaping the response of complicated dynamical control systems illustrates the integration of a wide variety of mathemat ical disciplines typical of the modern theory of systems and control. As a concrete example, one may consider the control of fluid flow across an airfoil, for which recent experiments indicate the possibility of delaying the onset of turbulence by controlling viscosity through thermal actuators located on the airfoil. In general, there are two approaches to the con trol of such a...

In its broadest sense, nonlinear synthesis involves in fact the synthesis of sometimes so- phisticated or complex control strategies with the aim of prescribing, or at least influencing, the evolution of complex nonlinear systems. Nonlinear synthesis requires the development of methodologies for modeling complex systems, for the analysis of nonlinear models, and for the systematic design of control schemes or feedback laws which can achieve a wide variety of prescribed objectives. The modeling, analysis and control of complex systems in the face of uncertainty form on of the major components...

The fourth Conference on Computation and Control was held at Mon tana State University in Bozeman, Montana from August 3-9, 1994. These proceedings represent the continued evolution of the cross-disciplinary dia logue begun at the 1988 conference (Volume 1 of PSCT) and continued on a biennial basis in 1990 and 1992. Those proceedings are housed in Volume 11 of PSCT and Volume 15 of PSCT, respectively. In recent years considerable effort has been devoted to the problem of developing rigorous numerical methods and computational tools for con trol design and analysis. Although computational...

This book contains the text of the plenary lectures and the mini-courses of the European Control Conference (ECC'93) held in Groningen, the Netherlands, June 2S-July 1, 1993. However, the book is not your usu- al conference proceedings. Instead, the authors took this occasion to take a broad overview of the field of control and discuss its development both from a theoretical as well as from an engineering perpective. The first essay is by the key-note speaker ofthe conference, A.G.J. Mac- Farlane. It consists of a non-technical discussion of information processing and knowledge acquisition as...

The third Conference on Computation and Control was held at Mon- tana State University in Bozeman, Montana from August 5-11, 1992 and this proceedings represents the evolution that the conference has taken since its 1988 and 1990 predecessors. The first conference and proceedings (Volume 1 in PSCT) nurtured a dialogue between researchers in control theory and the area of numerical computation. This cross-fertilization was continued with the 1990 conference and proceedings (Volume 11 in PSCT) while forecasting the theme for this conference. The present volume contains a collection of papers...

The purpose of this volume is to present a coherent collection of overviews of recent Russian research in Control Theory and Nonlinear Dynamics written by active investigators in these fields. It is needless to say that the contribution of the scientists of the former Soviet Union to the development of nonlinear dynamics and control was significant and that their scientific schools and research community have highly evolved points of view, accents and depth which complemented, enhanced and sometimes inspired research directions in the West. With scientific exchange strongly increasing, there...

This volume contains the papers that have been presented at the Conference on Modeling and Control of Uncertain Systems held in Sopron, Hungary on September 3-7, 1990, organised within the framework of the activities of the System and Decision Sciences Program of IIASA - the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. The importance of the subject has drawn the attention of researchers all over the world since several years. In fact, in most actual applications the knowledge about the system under investigation presents aspects of uncertainty due to measurement errors or poor...

This volume contains the proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Optimal Design and Control, held in Arlington, Virginia, 30 September-3 Octo- ber, 1997. The First Workshop was held in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1994. The proceedings of that meeting also appeared in the Birkhauser series on Progress in Systems and Control Theory and may be obtained through Birkhauser. These workshops were sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Re- search through the Center for Optimal Design and Control (CODAC) at Vrrginia Tech. The meetings provided a forum for the exchange of new ideas and...

It is a great honor and privilege to have this opportunity of celebrating the 65th birthday of Professor Antonio Ruberti by holding an International Conference on Systems, Models and Feedback. The conference, and this volume which contains its proceedings, is a tribute to Professor Ruberti in acknowledgement of his major contributions to System Theory, at a time in which this area was emerging and consolidat- ing as an independent discipline, his role as a leader of the Italian academic community, his activity in promoting and fostering close scientific relations between Italian and U.S....

The University of Genoa - Ohio State University Joint Conference on New Trends in Systems Theory was held at the Badia di S. Andrea in Genoa on July 9-11, 1990. This Proceedings volume contains articles based on two of the three Plenary talks and most of the shorter presentations. The papers are arranged by author, and no attempt has been made to organize them by topic. We would like to thank the members of the Scientific Committee and of the Program Committee, the speakers and authors, and everyone who attended the conference. Approximately 120 researchers and students from all over the...