A workshop on theoretical developments and engineering applications in the areas of control of infinite-dimensional and stochastic systems will be held at University of California, Los Angeles. The simultaneous interest in these topics originated in the late 1960s, with pioneers such as J.-L. Lions in France and A. V. Balakrishnan in the U.S. laying the mathematical foundations for extending, to partial differential equations, the basic results of Kalman, from a decade earlier, on controllability and optimal control for ODEs. The workshop will bring together researchers working on PDEs and those working on stochastic control, mathematicians and engineers, researchers with interests in mechanics and biology and those with interest in finance, the generation that founded the field and the generation that is carrying it forward towards subjects of increasing mathematical sophistication and engineering relevance.
The workshop is anticipated to be a milestone event in sharing of ideas among leading researchers working on the mathematics and control of complex physical systems. The application topics covered will span a broad range, including aerospace/defense systems, biology, and financial systems, all tied though a common mathematical thread.
