inControl ep30 - Manfred Morari: A pioneer’s journey through robust, predictive and computational control
Feb 17, 2025
Manfred Morari, Emeritus Professor at ETH Zurich and a distinguished figure in control theory, shares his insights on the evolution of control systems. He discusses his transformative journey from chemical engineering, emphasizing the importance of blending theory with real-world applications. Morari highlights advancements in PID controller design, robust control, and model predictive control while noting the critical role of collaboration with industry. He also reflects on the integration of AI within control systems, addressing the challenges and opportunities that arise from this intersection.
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The Legend of Manfred's Thesis
- Manfred Morari's diligent work on his diploma thesis made it legendary within ETH, scaring off other students.
- His brute force methods to make distillation calculations converge were practically effective, but not elegant.
Finding the Right Problems
- Morari's interest in control began at ETH but solidified during his PhD at the University of Minnesota under George Stephanopoulos.
- Stephanopoulos challenged him with the idea that control was considered "dead" because researchers were focused on the wrong problems.
Minnesota vs. Caltech
- Morari was torn between Minnesota and Caltech for his PhD, receiving advice from Rex Reed.
- Reed asked him if he wanted to learn or impress people, leading him to choose Minnesota.
