inControl

Cleve Moler, a pioneer in numerical mathematics and the creator of MATLAB, shares his incredible journey from the University of Utah to co-founding MathWorks. He delves into the fascinating origins of MATLAB and the iconic MathWorks logo. The conversation touches on 'embarrassingly parallel computations' and the notorious Pentium bug that shook the tech world. Cleve also offers valuable advice for aspiring mathematicians, emphasizing the evolution and impact of numerical analysis in modern computing.

In this episode, John Doyle discusses complex systems and layered architectures, including topics such as the interplay between physics, bacteria, and the internet, earthquakes, wildfires, and sepsis. He explores the essential components of a full theory of architectures, including universal laws, layers, levels, and diversity-enabled sweet spots. The podcast also covers topics like power laws, the role of feedback in bacterial chemotaxis and visual perception, and the relationship between intelligent design and evolution. Lastly, it touches on societal implications and the importance of constructive criticism.

John Doyle, a living legend in the field of robust control, shares his journey in control theory. From his groundbreaking work on μm synthesis and the H∞infinity problem to his insights on System Level Synthesis and modern control architectures, John discusses the past, present, and future of robust control. Along the way, he shares fascinating stories including record-breaking athletics feats and a thrilling Panamanian adventure. Don't miss his thoughts on fixing the theory-practice gap and the challenge of architecture design in our age.

In this episode, our guest is Mustafa Khammash. Mustafa is the director of the Control Theory and Systems Biology Lab at ETH Zürich and guides us in this episode as we explore Cybergenetics - the cutting-edge intersection of control theory and synthetic biology. From biomolecular control to antithetic motifs, we discuss real-world applications and ethical dilemmas. Don't miss it!Outline00:00 - Intro00:50 - Cybergenetics02:22 - Genetics 10105:07- Where control meets biology06:49 - Mustafa's early steps in biology: why do dairy cows get milk fever?12:05 - Systems and synthetic biology14:34 - History of synthetic biology17:16 - On biological computing23:23 - On biomolecular control29:27 - The birth of the Antithetic motif for molecular feedback control39:25 - Enabling technologies48:28 - How the antithetic motif works57:20 - Model organisms 01:00:45 - Applications of Cybergenetics 01:06:45 - Ethical dilemmas in Cybergenetics01:10:57 - On the internal model principle01:16:01 - Advice to future students01:19:51 - OutroLinks - Mustafa’s website: https://bsse.ethz.ch/ctsb- Paper on calcium regulation: https://tinyurl.com/4p9xu8j2- History of synthetic biology: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ej8fw- Motifs: https://tinyurl.com/3vcnjvj3- Paper - In silico feedback for in vivo regulation of a gene expression circuit: https://tinyurl.com/yw98d8k8- Paper - A universal biomolecular integral feedback controller for robust perfect adaptation: https://tinyurl.com/bddux4x3- Optogenetics: https://tinyurl.com/r6yw9s37- About the fluorescent protein: https://tinyurl.com/bdzm37fs- Electroporation: https://tinyurl.com/3hhjxanp- Paper - Cybergenetics: Theory and Applications of Genetic Control Systems: https://tinyurl.com/222f8924- Paper - Universal structural requirements for maximal robust perfect adaptation in biomolecular networks: https://tinyurl.com/3a2bm35fSupport the showPodcast infoPodcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85jSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3cRSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4yYoutube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolPInstagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4Acknowledgments and sponsorsThis episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.

In this episode, our guest is Stephen Boyd. Stephen is the Samsung Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University.  Join as we dive deep into control, convex optimization, linear matrix inequalities, disciplined convex programming, teaching styles, and... rock & roll sound!Outline- 00:00 - Intro - 07:48 - Early years at Berkeley  - 10:25 - The role of theory in practice - 16:19 - On traveling (intellectually)- 19:40 - Convex optimization  - 31:51 - On Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs) - 39:57 - Convex Optimization Control Policies  (COCPs)- 50:20 - CVX and Disciplined Convex Programming (DCP)- 58:14 - About AI - 1:03:58 - Teaching - 1:11:07 - Open source and publishing - 1:15:13 - Future of control and advice to future students - 1:20:08 - OutroEpisode links- Stephen’s website: https://tinyurl.com/yrmk6p2w - CSM acceptance speech: https://tinyurl.com/43yhs583- L. Chua: https://tinyurl.com/k4zx4vya - C. Desoer: https://tinyurl.com/4euxvcxx - S. Sastry: https://tinyurl.com/2p9hfrha - G. Dantzig: https://tinyurl.com/2s4m3jvz - Simplex algorithm: https://tinyurl.com/2r8bxwe5 - Interior point methods: https://tinyurl.com/4ev4z6zm - Invariants and dissipated quantities: https://tinyurl.com/43zswmwt - Linear matrix inequalities: https://tinyurl.com/4y57date - COCP paper: https://tinyurl.com/468apvdx - Keynote talk at L4DC: https://tinyurl.com/2y3z4v68 - Model Predictive Control (MPC): https://tinyurl.com/bdf8r2sx - DCP: https://tinyurl.com/yc38kvae  - YALMIP: https://tinyurl.com/mr3rk2r4 - Stephen's books: https://tinyurl.com/52v9fu83Support the showPodcast infoPodcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85jSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3cRSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4yYoutube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolPInstagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4Acknowledgments and sponsorsThis episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.

Our guest in this episode is Rodolphe Sepulchre, Professor of Engineering at KU Leuven in the Deparment of Electrical Engineering (STADIUS) and at the University of Cambridge in the Deparment of Engineering  (Control Group).  We dive into Rodophe's scientific journey across nonlinear control, neuroscience and optimization on manifolds through the unifying lens of control theory.Outline- 00:00 - Intro - 03:54 - Why control? - 11:08 - Spiking control systems - 20:47 - The mixed feedback principle - 23:52 - On thermodynamics - 25:17 - Event-based systems - 29:33 - On dissipativity theory - 48:00 - Stability, positivity and monotonicity - 55:00 - Control, cybernetics and neuroscience - 59:10 - Neuromorphic control principles - 01:00:01 - Optimization on manifolds - 01:05:01 - Influential figures - 01:08:52 - On the future of control - 01:12:35 - Advice to future students - 01:15:01 - About creativity - 01:20:35 - OutroEpisode links- Rodolphe's lab: https://tinyurl.com/yc4bubyy - IEEE CSM editorials: https://tinyurl.com/2bhch6w3 - Spiking control systems: https://tinyurl.com/3x6pwm9m- O. Pamuk: https://tinyurl.com/4akzyk37 - Event based control: https://tinyurl.com/5apuh5kw - A simple neuron servo: https://tinyurl.com/4pjnkx5u - C. Mead: https://tinyurl.com/mr29xta9 - L. Chua: https://tinyurl.com/5n935ssp - Inventing the negative feedback amplifier: https://tinyurl.com/4573rv2d - Hodgkin-Huxley model: https://tinyurl.com/mr46cv79 - R. Ashby: https://tinyurl.com/45jrp6hw - G. J. Minty: https://tinyurl.com/4u4v22ue  - J. C. Willems: https://tinyurl.com/3zthcxc2 - P. Kokotovic: https://tinyurl.com/mrymffch - Wholeness and the Implicate Order: https://tinyurl.com/yckpnybpSupport the showPodcast infoPodcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85jSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3cRSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4yYoutube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolPInstagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4Acknowledgments and sponsorsThis episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.

In this episode, our guest is Anuradha Annaswamy. Anu is the Director of the Active-Adaptive Control Laboratory and Senior Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Deparment of Mechanical Engineering.  We delve into adaptive control and its exciting history, ranging from the Brave Era to the audacious X15 tests and to modern intersections with Reinforcement Learning. Outline02:15 - Anu's background 05:20 - What is adaptation? 08:30 - The Brave Era 15:17 - The X15 accident  23:16 - Exploration vs exploitation 28:35 - Beyond linearity and time invariance 45:05 - Adaptive control vs Reinforcement Learning 52:12 - The future of adaptive control 54:34 - OutroEpisode linksAnu's lab:  http://aaclab.mit.edu/NCCR Symposium: https://tinyurl.com/bdz84p4cBook - Stable adaptive systems: https://tinyurl.com/mw4saame X-15 Flight 3-65-97: https://tinyurl.com/2kbe7nsyPaper - Adaptive Control and the NASA X-15-3 Flight Revisited: https://tinyurl.com/2p83k7ezPaper - A historical perspective of adaptive control and learning: https://tinyurl.com/yck89rcdPaper -Adaptive Control and Intersections with Reinforcement Learning: https://tinyurl.com/yc27rsydKYP Lemma: https://tinyurl.com/mkf35jjt Persistence of excitation: https://tinyurl.com/bpfwp9n9 Dual control: https://tinyurl.com/ywduzm5x Paper - Robust adaptive control in the presence of bounded disturbances:  https://tinyurl.com/4pztx23z Paper -  Reinforcement learning is direct adaptive optimal control https://tinyurl.com/appnjzynMRAC: https://tinyurl.com/bdzzphju Self Tuning Control: https://tinyurl.com/3mjs3skmSupport the showPodcast infoPodcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85jSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3cRSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4yYoutube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolPInstagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4Acknowledgments and sponsorsThis episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.

In this episode, our guest is Jean-Jacques Slotine, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Information Sciences as well as Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Director of the Nonlinear Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Distinguished Faculty at Google AI.  We explore and connect a wide range of ideas from nonlinear and adaptive control to robotics, neuroscience, complex networks, optimization and machine learning.Outline00:00 - Intro00:50 - Jean-Jacques' early life06:17 - Why control? 09:45 - Sliding control and adaptive nonlinear control18:47 - Neural networks 23:15 - First ventures in neuroscience28:27 - Contraction theory and applications48:26 - Synchronization51:10 - Complex networks57:59 - Optimization and machine learning1:08:17 -  Advice to future students and outro Episode linksNCCR Symposium: https://tinyurl.com/bdz84p4c Sliding mode control: https://tinyurl.com/2s45ra4mApplied nonlinear control: https://tinyurl.com/4wmbt4bwOn the Adaptive Control of Robot Manipulators: https://tinyurl.com/b7jcpkzwGaussian Networks for Direct Adaptive Control: https://tinyurl.com/22zb7pkxThe intermediate cerebellum may function as a wave-variable processor: https://tinyurl.com/2c34ytepOn contraction analysis for nonlinear systems: https://tinyurl.com/5cw4z9j8Kalman conjecture: https://tinyurl.com/2pfjsbkeI. Prigogine: https://tinyurl.com/5ct8yssb RNNs of RNNs: https://tinyurl.com/3mpt7fecHow Synchronization Protects from Noise: https://tinyurl.com/2p82erwp Controllability of complex networks: https://tinyurl.com/24w7hdaeB. Anderson: https://tinyurl.com/e9pkyxdxOnline lectures on nonlinear control: https://tinyurl.com/525cnru4Support the showPodcast infoPodcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85jSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3cRSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4yYoutube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolPInstagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4Acknowledgments and sponsorsThis episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.

Discover the fascinating life of Norbert Wiener, the founding father of cybernetics. Explore his prodigious academic journey and groundbreaking contributions in communication and control theory. Dive deep into his dynamic collaboration with Arturo Rosenbluth, highlighting their innovative discussions on feedback mechanisms. Learn about the philosophical implications of Wiener's work, which bridged biology and technology, and find out how his ethical principles shaped his legacy in the world of science.

In this episode, our guest is Sean Meyn, Professor and Robert C. Pittman Eminent Scholar Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. The episode features Sean’s adventures in the areas of Markov chains, networks and Reinforcement Learning (RL) as well as anecdotes and trivia about beekeeping and jazz.Outline00:00 - Intro00:22 - Sean’s early steps03:53 - Markov chains08:45 - Networks18:26 - Stochastic approximation25:00 - Reinforcement Learning38:57 - The intersection of Reinforcement Learning and  Control42:37 - Favourite theorem44:05 - Beekeeping and jazz48:47 - OutroEpisode linksSean’s website: https://meyn.ece.ufl.edu/Sean’s books: shorturl.at/CFGRY (and T. Sargent's review: shorturl.at/hlGNR)G. Zames: shorturl.at/JPRWX (see also: shorturl.at/chiw5)State space model: shorturl.at/hST07 The life and work of A.A. Markov: shorturl.at/qsv35Fluid model: shorturl.at/HKN56M/M/1 queue: shorturl.at/dQW36Borkar-Meyn theorem: shorturl.at/eSTV4NCCR Automation Symposia: shorturl.at/csv03 (see also shorturl.at/ekpZ3)V. Konda’s PhD Thesis: shorturl.at/bdrv7Support the showPodcast infoPodcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85jSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3cRSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4yYoutube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolPInstagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4Acknowledgments and sponsorsThis episode was supported by the National Centre of Competence in Research on «Dependable, ubiquitous automation» and the IFAC Activity fund. The podcast benefits from the help of an incredibly talented and passionate team. Special thanks to L. Seward, E. Cahard, F. Banis, F. Dörfler, J. Lygeros, ETH studio and mirrorlake . Music was composed by A New Element.