On January 30 31, 2009, a workshop

Transcription

1 » CONFERENCE E N C E REPORTS R Horizons in Infinite-Dimensional Deterministic and Stochastic Systems A WORKSHOP IN HONOR OF A.V. BALAKRISHNAN On January 30 31, 2009, a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation was held in honor of A.V. Balakrishnan. The workshop focused on topics that constitute Balakrishnan s research legacy infinite-dimensional systems theory, control of partial differential equations (PDEs), and stochastic systems. The workshop was organized by Miroslav Krstic (University of California, San Diego, UCSD) and Irena Lasiecka (University of Virginia) and A.V. hosted by the Department of Electrical Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A.V. BALAKRISHNAN A.V. Balakrishnan was born in He received the M.S. degree in cinema in 1949, the M.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1950, and the Balakrishnan at the workshop. Tom Kailath offers his remarks in tribute of A.V. Balakrishnan. Ph.D. degree in mathematics in 1954, all from the University of Southern California. He worked at RCA s Space Technologies Laboratories from 1954 t o He joined UCLA in 1961 as associate professor and was promoted to full professor in He served as the founding chair of the Department of Systems Science at UCLA from 1969 to 1975 and again from 1980 to During his career at UCLA he graduated 52 Ph.D. students, authored 80 journal articles, of which 75 are single-authored, and authored or coedited ten books, including his classic Applied Functional Analysis. He was elected Fellow of IEEE in 1966 and received the Richard E. Bellman Award in He has made seminal contributions Jason Speyer presents results on state estimation of systems subject to Cauchy noise. This talk was followed by a lively discussion with Balakrishnan. to stochastic systems, optimal control, infinite-dimensional systems theory, aeroelasticity, and other fields. CONFERENCE WORKSHOP The workshop drew over 70 attendees from 26 universities, including three overseas participants as well as junior researchers and graduate stu dents from engineering, mathematics, and control programs in southern California. Opening remarks were delivered by UCLA Dean of Engineering Vijay Dhir, Electrical Engineering Department Chair Ali Sayed, and Kishan Baheti Participants of the workshop in honor of A.V. Balakrishnan. Digital Object Identifier /MCS IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE» JUNE 2009

2 Panel discussion on future directions of the field with (from left) Tyrone Duncan, George Avalos, Wolfgang Luber, David Russell, and Sanjoy Mitter. Sanjoy Mitter, Vijay Dhir, and Andrew Viterbi enjoy the reception. David Russell responds to a question on stationary stabilization of elliptic PDE systems, such as in ground water management. of the National Science Foundation. The workshop consisted of 27 technical talks by invited speakers, of which nearly half are junior researchers, a panel discussion on future directions of the field, and a session in which Claude Benchimol (former Ph.D. student), Thomas Kailath, Ronald Mohler, Andrew Viterbi (former junior faculty colleague), and Don Washburn (former Ph.D. student) presented remarks on Balakrishnan s impact in the field or on their careers. Ron Mohler presented a retrospective of photographs, reviewing Balakrishnan s career and international influence and collaborations, with an emphasis on the period from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. On the first day of the workshop, lectures were presented by S. Mitter, D. Russell, K. Malanowski, F. Udwadia, J. Speyer, N. Levan, R. Triggiani, M. Krstic, W. Luber, L. Tebou, and A. Tartakovsky on topics that include nonlinear estimation, sensitivity analysis, mechanical and structural systems, Cauchy noise, wavelets, coupled PDEs, delay systems, and flutter. On the second day of the workshop, J.-P. Zolesio, T. Duncan, G. Avalos, Q.- P. Vu, M. Shubov, P. Wang, C. Preda. E. Cerpa, D. Toundykov, S. Liu, L. Bociu, A. Tuffaha, J. Zhang, C. Lebiedzik, and E. Schuster spoke on a variety of topics such as Euler flows, fractional Brownian motion, fluid-structure systems, controllability of Korteweg de Vries (KdV) equations, stability of nonlinear wave equations, and infinite-time averaging for Itô systems, as well as application-driven topics such as tokamak fusion, carbon nanotubes, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). CLOSING REMARKS The workshop concluded with a panel discussion addressing future directions of PDE control sys tems, stochastic control, and their applications. The pan elists included George Avalos, University of Nebraska, United States; Tyrone Duncan, University of Kansas, United States; Wolfgang Luber, EADS, Germany; Sanjoy Mitter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States; and David Russell, Virginia Tech, United States. The discussions, which were moderated by Miroslav Krstic and Irena Lasiecka, focused on the challenges facing theoretical research in the context of increasingly complex systems involving numerous interconnected PDEs, such as in biology; the role of single-investigator idea-driven research versus team- and MURI-style research; and the changes in the landscape of the field of PDE control over the last ten years, where the focus has shifted from elastic systems and aerospace applications to fluid flows, Navier-Stokes systems, and nonlinear PDEs, and toward methods that are suitable for addressing adaptive control questions for PDEs. A grant from the National Science Foundation provided support for travel and local expenses for 22 junior researchers, graduate students, and invited speakers. Organizational support was provided by Paulo Tabuada (UCLA-EE), Eduardo Cerpa (UCSD), the Department of Electrical Engineering at UCLA, and the Cymer Center for Control Systems and Dynamics at UCSD. Complete information on the workshop, including the final program and the abstracts of the talks, is available on the workshop Web site edu/workshop-bal/workshop.html. Miroslav Krstic JUNE 2009 «IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 113

3 The 16th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED 08) The 16th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED 08) was held June 25 27, 2008 at the Congress Center in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. The focus of the conference was on new directions in control and automation and to promote ideas and collaboration between researchers. The conference general chair was Dominique Sauter of the University of Nancy, France. The honorary chair was Panos Antsaklis of the University of Notre Dame, United States, president of the Mediterranean Control Association (MCA). The conference program chair was Ron Patton of the University of Hull, United Kingdom, and the program vice-chair was Didier Maquin of the National Polytechnic Institute of Nancy, France. Ajaccio is situated on the French island of Corsica. The Greeks were the first to discover the beautiful island, naming it kalliste, old Greek for beautiful. Ajaccio was founded in 1492 as a Genoan town. General Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio. Conference staff in front of the Congress Center of Ajaccio. Surrounded by mountains, elegant and radiant Ajaccio welcomes visitors to its sunny shores. From the top of its citadel s ramparts, to the purity of its beautiful shores, through the alleys of the old town, discover Ajaccio s Napoleonic history, museums, and daily market. Welcome reception at the town hall of Ajaccio. Plenary speaker Miroslav Krstic. Napoleon s square in Ajaccio. From left to right: Ron Patton, Didier Maquin, Panos Antsaklis, and Dominique Sauter. The gala dinner. From left to right: Anna Maria Perdon, Didier Maquin and his wife, and Dominique Sauter. 114 IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE» JUNE 2009

4 Napoleon s square in Ajaccio. Statue of Napoleon and his brothers. TECHNICAL PROGRAM The 2008 MED received a record number of submitted papers. The technical program, comprising 53 sessions, including six invited sessions, ran in six parallel tracks for three days. Of 473 submissions, 311 peer-reviewed papers were accepted. The conference was attended by more than 300 participants from over 40 countries. The technical program was preceded by a one-day tutorial, Closed- Loop Identification and Estimation Techniques in Linear and Nonlinear Control, by M. Fliess of Ecole Polytechnique, France, together with C. Join of Nancy-University, France, W. Perruquetti of Ecole Centrale de Lille, France, and J. Rudolph, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. The tutorial presented a comprehensive review of the current state of research as well as methods and techniques related to identification and estimation techniques in linear and nonlinear control. The workshop provided theoretical basis as well as numerous case studies. THE MED PLENARY TALKS Three plenary speeches on timely topics were delivered. These speeches were» Infinite- Dimensional Backstepping and Applications to Flows in Electromagnetic Fields by Miroslav Krstic, University of California, San Diego, United States» Stochastic Modeling Techniques for the Dependability Analysis of DES, Andrea Bobbio, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy» Delay Effects on Stability of Interconnected Systems: A Control Perspective, Silviu Niculescu of CNRS-Supélec, France. SPONSORS The 2008 MED was sponsored by the Mediterranean Control Association. It was technically cosponsored by the IEEE Control Systems Society and the French GdR MACS, and supported by the Research Center for Automatic Control of Nancy, Nancy University, the University Pascal Paoli of Corsica, and the Collectivité Territoriale de Corse. For more information about MED 08, please visit med08.org MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE ON CONTROL AND AUTOMATION The 17th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED 09) will be held at the Makedonia Palace June 24 26, 2009 in Thessaloniki, Greece. For more information, please see A painting of Napoleon in the town hall of Ajaccio. The gala dinner. From left to right: Didier Maquin and his wife, Dominique Sauter, Brian Anderson, and Panos Antsaklis. JUNE 2009 «IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 115

5 Didier Maquin thanks the organizing committee. Announcement of MED 09 by Zoe Doulgeri. Ron Patton expresses his appreciation to the attendees. Concluding remarks by Dominique Sauter. Panos Antsaklis welcoming participants at the banquet. Attendees in front of Girolata Bay at Micro Beach. The Girolata Fortification. 116 IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE» JUNE 2009

6 Participants Enjoying the Banquet JUNE 2009 «IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE 117

7 Sailboats off the coast of Scandola reserve. The Micro Beach at Scandola nature reserve. A Genoa tower near Ajaccio. Ostensible Uselessness The Homeostat, completed in 1948, is a fascinating machine for several reasons. Most obvious is that it is a machine with an odd sort of purpose. It does not do anything in the sense that a machine generally serves some useful human purpose; unlike a bicycle or typewriter, it has no real practical application. On the other hand, it has its own purpose in the purest sense given by cybernetics: its equilibrium-seeking behavior is goal-oriented and controlled by negative feedback and so it is a teleological mechanism. This means that the machine itself has a goal, as revealed by its behavior, which may or may not have anything to do with the goals of its designer, a distinction that was to be further elaborated in Ashby s philosophy. Mechanisms of Adaptation to Intelligence Amplifiers: The Philosophy of W. Ross Ashby, by Peter M. Asaro. Excerpted from The Mechanical Mind in History, edited by Philip Husbands, Owen Holland, and Michael Wheeler, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2008, p IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE» JUNE 2009