The overall objective of the workshop is to explore new methodologies and techniques for increasing the penetration of systems theory into other fields and for teaching systems theory and control. The workshop will be open to all topics pertaining to the broad area of systems and control theory, but with especial emphasis on topics that are likely to have significant impact in applications to engineering and the basic sciences.
Intellectual merit
The workshop will consist of four short tutorials, about a dozen technical talks, and two panel sections. The tutorials and technical talks will be delivered by a selected group of researchers in academia and industry, internationally known for their interdisciplinary work and collaborations with researchers outside the systems and control area. A web site for the workshop will be created to host all the talks along with related reference materials. A report will also be written to summarize the discussion and key conclusions of the panels. All these materials will be made publicly available.
Broader impacts
A key objective of this proposal is to seek the funds needed to ensure wide participation in this event. We will actively seek participation by undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of systems and control theory as well as other areas of engineering and the basic sciences, where a systems perspective can have significant impact. To make the workshop especially appealing for students, we will cover the expenses to a selected group of students and postdoctoral researchers. By exposing these students to a vibrant research community, we expect to attract them to research careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The student selection plan will give priority and thus extend opportunities to students from underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines.
