Control Systems in Electrical Engineering

Control systems research studies how to manipulate the parameters affecting the behavior of a system to produce a desired or optimal outcome. The tools that form the body of knowledge, known as control theory, are applicable to a wide variety of systems, including electrical, mechanical, chemical, biological, economic, and social systems.

UCSB is a world-renowned leader in control systems engineering, with a large number of highly recognized control faculty engaged in very high-impact research. Control systems research at UCSB is coordinated through the multi-disciplinary Center for Control, Dynamical Systems, and Computation (CCDC). Currently, the Center consists of faculty and graduate students from the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics.

For more detailed descriptions of faculty research and activities, please follow the links to the various research centers, labs, and groups indicated on this page.

Control Systems Research Activities

Control Systems research areas include but are not limited to:

• Robust modeling and identification
• Nonlinear and hybrid systems
• Robot locomotion and manipulation
• Numerical algorithms
• Cooperative control of autonomous agents
• Networked control systems
• Advanced sensing and actuation
• Systems biology

• Underactuated systems
• Magnetic bearing systems
• Robotic networks
• Sensor networks
• Game theory
• Analysis/Design social systems
• Smart Grid
• Cyber-physical Systems