More and more, the advanced technological systems of today rely on sophisticated control systems designed to assure greater levels of safe operation while optimizing performance. Rather than assuming always perfect conditions, these systems require adaptive approaches capable of coping with inevitable system component faults. Conventional feedback control designs do not offer that capability and can result in unsatisfactory performance or even instability, which is totally unacceptable in complex systems such as aircraft, spacecraft, and nuclear power plants where safety is a paramount...