Outline

00:00 – Intro
04:43 – Life and background
08:45 – Bell Labs
13:42 – Inventing the negative feedback amplifier
18:15 – Nyquist's landmark contributions
20:43 – Regeneration theory
27:10 – Frequency response
32:03 – Cauchy’s argument principle
36:05 – The Nyquist criterion
41:37 – Why is it so hard?
45:27 – Robustness, margins, and practical aspects
56:41 – Beyond the Nyquist criterion
1:04:25 – Pitfalls and common misunderstandings
1:07:00 – Outro

Links

Brian Douglas's video: http://y2u.be/sof3meN96MA
The Idea Factory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idea_Factory
Inventing the Negative Feedback Amplifier: https://doi.org/10.1109/MSPEC.1977.6501721
Johnson–Nyquist noise: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.32.110
Nyquist sampling theorem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist%E2%80%93Shannon_sampling_theorem
Regeneration theory: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-7305.1932.tb02344.x
Gain and phase margins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bode_plot#Gain_margin_and_phase_margin
Routh–Hurwitz criterion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routh%E2%80%93Hurwitz_stability_criterion
Åström’s lecture: https://archive.control.lth.se/media/Staff/KarlJohanAstrom/Lectures/ASMENyquistLecture2005.pdf
Scale-Relative Graphs: https://doi.org/10.1109/TAC.2023.3234016

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline
00:00 - Intro
02:55 - Brachistochrone problem
20:52 - Beginning of the calculus of variations
32:00 - Principle of least action
42:37 - Maximum principle
1:02:35 - Dynamic programming
1:11:12 - Linear quadratic control
1:16:37 - Beyond optimal control: games, nonsmooth analysis, MPC, RL
1:28:40 - Outro

Links
300 years of optimal control: https://tinyurl.com/2s3t8se4
Brachistochrone: https://tinyurl.com/mwmv38ew
Acta Eruditorum, 1696: https://tinyurl.com/55yf5v49
Acta Eruditorum, 1697: https://tinyurl.com/2a7msaaj
Bernoulli family: https://tinyurl.com/y2vx2xdn
Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy: https://tinyurl.com/3974fdhd
Calculus of variations: https://tinyurl.com/3vvz8tuf
Beginning of the Calculus of Variations: https://tinyurl.com/mv6btxfn
Lagrangian mechanics: https://tinyurl.com/ycx5fv46
Euler–Lagrange equation: https://tinyurl.com/53yybvyx
Hamiltonian mechanics: https://tinyurl.com/yfrd8zhz
Hamilton–Jacobi equation: https://tinyurl.com/46m9cuvs
Pontryagin: https://tinyurl.com/35ehxnex
Pontryagin’s autobiography: https://ega-math.narod.ru/LSP/book.htm
Discovery of the Maximum Principle: https://tinyurl.com/3s43nv4t
Maximum Principle: https://tinyurl.com/4f7352t4
Goddard problem: https://tinyurl.com/5n8swp2m
Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation: https://tinyurl.com/4uemn5y4
Kalman filter: https://tinyurl.com/39zx5yry
Clarke: https://tinyurl.com/yj2tzcjb
MPC: https://tinyurl.com/4sf5pzvy
RL: https://tinyurl.com/ee5ne7sz
AlphaGo: https://tinyurl.com/ydrf8jsc

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline
00:00 - Intro
03:18 - Early days: why control, M. Athans, and IDSS
12:21 - What is gain scheduling?
33:37 - Paradigm shifts & the ‘90s: Minnesota → Texas → LA
42:19 - Robustness & fundamental limitations of nonlinear systems
57:35 - Set-valued control & estimation
01:04:52 - Game theory & multi-agent control
01:28:18 - Learning & dissipativity in games & multi agent AI
01:45:03 - KAUST: building something new
01:53:33 - On human-algorithmic interaction
01:59:07 - Advice to future students: control, jiu-jitsu, and chatbots in education
2:10:02 - Outro

Links
Jeff’s website: https://tinyurl.com/52btmmz7
CSM interview: https://tinyurl.com/49wh98x7
Domain: feedbackcontrol.com
M. Athans: https://tinyurl.com/nhbw66wa
PhD thesis: https://tinyurl.com/5eyxkfm6
IDSS: https://tinyurl.com/bdenwy6d
Research on gain scheduling: https://tinyurl.com/55se8zcr
Overview of LPV systems: https://tinyurl.com/3ksff58b
Åström’s lecture: https://tinyurl.com/33mxkkfe
Necessity of the small gain theorem: https://tinyurl.com/mjn9eeb4
Sensitivity reduction for nonlinear plants: https://tinyurl.com/23tej5yp
Respect the unstable: https://tinyurl.com/3yww5eds
Differential inclusion: https://tinyurl.com/4yvc8vcc
Lectures on game theory: https://tinyurl.com/4z8hh3rn
Dynamic fictitious play: https://tinyurl.com/yc6wsxjj
Cooperative control and potential games: https://tinyurl.com/4hbmrt72
Dissipativity theory in game theory: https://tinyurl.com/3theyc7x
Population games, stable games, and passivity: https://tinyurl.com/zxwtzv6w
Game theory and control: https://tinyurl.com/yencrwm3
Higher-order uncoupled learning: https://tinyurl.com/37

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline

00:00 - Intro

05:01 - Female Influencers in Control — The Backstory

08:08 - Sofya Kovalevskaya

15:21 - Irmgard Lotz

26:16 - A new wave of control influencers

34:26 - Some data

43:38 - What can one do?

1:00:10 - Exhibition + survey

1:05:21 - Outro

Links
Female influencers in control project: https://tinyurl.com/mv879ahf

Charlotta Johnsson: https://tinyurl.com/343esbeu

Eva Westin: https://tinyurl.com/3p6fd5n8

Margret Bauer: https://tinyurl.com/47d35xzb

Sofya Kovalevskaya: https://tinyurl.com/4mmzruwc

Remembering Sofya Kovalevskaya: https://tinyurl.com/4cpw7vff

Irmgard Lotz: https://tinyurl.com/y2exmndm

Flow Computation Pioneer Irmgard Flügge-Lotz (1903–1974): https://tinyurl.com/4cy3xsp3

Discontinuous Automatic Control: https://tinyurl.com/yeys5dxx

Historical Female Influencers in Automatic Control: https://tinyurl.com/yxw4bjxe

Activity report: https://tinyurl.com/jwzn4z3c

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline
00:00 – Intro
07:22 – Anatomy of a feedback loop
15:12 – A brief historical recap on the history of feedback
23:40 – Inventing the negative feedback amplifier
34:28 – Feedback in biology, economics, society, and ... board games!
52:44 – Negative vs positive feedback
59:15 – Feedback, causality, and the arrow of time
1:06:22 – Classics: fundamental limitations, uncertainty, robustness
1:21:30 – Adaptive control: learning in the loop
1:29:50 – Modern AI feedback loops (RL, social media, alignment)
1:40:40 – Outro

Links
Watt’s flyball governor: https://tinyurl.com/ne5nene3
Maxwell - "On Governors": https://tinyurl.com/2a7cxj7m
Black - "Inventing the negative-feedback amplifier": https://tinyurl.com/yevsemdp
Nyquist Criterion: https://tinyurl.com/33hfbw8m
Bode's integral: https://tinyurl.com/53sxkdzu
Wiener - "Cybernetics": https://tinyurl.com/yta899ay
Apoptosis: https://tinyurl.com/mcxjycka
Predator–prey dynamics (Lotka–Volterra): https://tinyurl.com/5cvx33tn
Bird migration cues (photoperiodism): https://tinyurl.com/y2e7t22v
Neuron action potentials: https://tinyurl.com/2wemwdn4
Economic equilibrium & feedback: https://tinyurl.com/nhdx7r3s
Echo chambers: https://tinyurl.com/4v8yk7e8
Game design: https://tinyurl.com/bdhdhv38
Gap metric (Vinnicombe): https://tinyurl.com/y9nw3yve
Georgiou, Smith - "Feedback Control and the Arrow of Time": https://tinyurl.com/5xvj76jr
Annaswamy, Fradkov - "A Historical Perspective of Adaptive Control and Learning": https://tinyurl.com/4nfew8vm
Algorithmic trading flash crash (2010): https://tinyurl.com/2dsrs8j2
AI alignment: https://tinyurl.com/yvs3wnj8

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline
00:00 - Intro
03:12 - Early life
09:07 - St. Petersburg: Stability of Ellipsoidal Bodies
20:13 - Kharkov: The General Problem of the Stability of Motion
34:37 - Back to St. Petersburg: Probability & Academy
46:22 - Tragic end
49:50 - Posthumous recognition
57:49 - Legacy
1:20:39 - Outro

Links
A. M. Lyapunov: https://tinyurl.com/3kjuhfns
S. Lyapunov: https://tinyurl.com/mury7p3s
Smirnov's bio: https://tinyurl.com/6wpffh3z
Bissell's essay: https://tinyurl.com/3ds3hubj
Sechenov: https://tinyurl.com/ypsr37vc
Krylov: https://tinyurl.com/44wez8w5
Krylov subspace: https://tinyurl.com/bw527uh2
Chebyshev: https://tinyurl.com/2n35usfr
The General Problem of Stability of Motion: https://tinyurl.com/mv2jchv2
Lyapunov stability: https://tinyurl.com/bb59vcuf
Central limit theorem: https://tinyurl.com/3r36p458
Van der Pol oscillator: https://tinyurl.com/3s68yyhr
Massera’s theorem: https://tinyurl.com/2zjmtvjw
LaSalle’s invariance principle: https://tinyurl.com/pjnrp3fh
Krasovskii: https://tinyurl.com/junbujsw
Popov criterion: https://tinyurl.com/uyt3kx5b
Control Lyapunov function: https://tinyurl.com/3v7bnusj
Artstein–Sontag formula: https://tinyurl.com/3fdebmm3
Input-to-state stability: https://tinyurl.com/3nca9nj6
Lyapunov equation: https://tinyurl.com/mvakw3yw
Hybrid systems: https://tinyurl.com/v39up6wk
Control barrier function: https://tinyurl.com/sy4p5jj
Dominance theory: https://tinyurl.com/msvnd4dv

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline

00:00 – Intro

00:51 – Early steps in research

09:55 – Historical overview of traffic control

25:20 – What is traffic?

34:06 – Road traffic control

45:37 – PI control of road junctions

58:19 – From macroscopic to microscopic simulations and back

1:10:08 – Dynamic traffic assignment

1:21:28 – Return to Greece

1:28:33 – The optimal control problem

1:41:48 – Traffic estimation

1:47:34 – The impact of automation and connectivity

1:59:20 – Traffic as an artificial fluid

2:07:51 – The future of traffic control

2:10:48 – Advice to future students

2:13:53 – Outro

Link

Homepage: https://tinyurl.com/yw7kee97

CSS day lecture: https://tinyurl.com/46vua4r7

Monograph - Applications of Automatic Control Concepts to Traffic Flow Modeling and Control: https://tinyurl.com/5czax788

Review of road traffic control strategies: https://tinyurl.com/48u235pw

ALINEA: https://tinyurl.com/bdtvny87

METANET: https://tinyurl.com/3h9xv48t

AIMSUM:https://tinyurl.com/mr2xkryj

AMOC: https://tinyurl.com/3v2xysr2

HERO: https://tinyurl.com/yzn6vkwh

Real-time freeway traffic state estimation based on extended Kalman filter: a general approach: https://tinyurl.com/2ubsh7cy

TRAMAN: https://tinyurl.com/ypr65cfa

Coordinated and integrated control of motorway networks via non-linear optimal control: https://tinyurl.com/3v2xysr2

Motorway traffic flow modelling, estimation and control with vehicle automation and communication systems: https://tinyurl.com/49679hy8

From road congestion to vehicle-control enabled artificial traffic fluids: https://tinyurl.com/pk4j8htp

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.

Outline
00:00 – Intro
01:19 – Early steps: PhD journey & robotic hands
15:42 – What is a soft robot?
23:35 – MIT years & models of soft robots
30:01 – Discretization & underactuation
37:21 – The regulation problem
47:01 – Pros and cons of soft robots
51:42 – The soft inverted pendulum
1:05:27 – Eigenmanifolds
1:15:22 – Physical intelligence
1:26:09 – On machine learning
1:37:49 – Embodied AI & TC on Robot Control
1:44:50 – Advice to future students

Links
- Cosimo’s website: https://tinyurl.com/mt37597k
- Piaggio Center: https://tinyurl.com/muryjw5h
- Pisa Robotic Hand: https://tinyurl.com/4ujtec59
- Model-Based Dynamic Controller for a Planar Soft Robot: https://tinyurl.com/5a8fv3c8
- Soft Robot definition (Encyclopaedia of Robotics): https://tinyurl.com/3y2jz987
- Isidori’s book: https://tinyurl.com/42254hav
- CSM magazine paper: https://tinyurl.com/bd54an6x
- Cosserat rod theory: https://tinyurl.com/zu73nadx
- Strain function: https://tinyurl.com/y8v63ue2
- Zero dynamics: https://tinyurl.com/2ezarn5e
- The soft inverted pendulum: https://tinyurl.com/y4bzkkup
- Templates and anchors: https://tinyurl.com/2957w6sz
- Exciting Efficient Oscillations Through Eigenmanifold Stabilisation: https://tinyurl.com/yc3586y5
- When Do Lyapunov Subcentre Manifolds Become Eigenmanifolds?: https://tinyurl.com/5tckw7xe
- Passive walker: https://tinyurl.com/yjwwapv5
- Strandbeests: https://tinyurl.com/494mfccu
- Physical control: https://tinyurl.com/bdddb6ur
- Morphological computation: https://tinyurl.com/an6vaahx
- The Playful Machine: https://tinyurl.com/5525xys2

Support the show

Podcast info
Podcast website: https://www.incontrolpodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/5n84j85j
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4rwztj3c
RSS: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fcv4y
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdbvhsj6
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3z24yr43
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncontrolP
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/35cu4kr4

Acknowledgments and sponsors
This 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.