Feedback control systems span every technology and provide the coordinating element for successful operation of countless applications. Topics in optimal control, digital control, statistical control, Kalman filtering, and nonlinear control, as well as techniques for modeling and computer simulation of systems during the design process are addressed. The Department conducts both basic and applied research in military/aerospace, batch manufacturing, and process controls.
Faculty members participate in research with NASA, Navy, Air Force, and other agencies, through involvement as summer faculty appointees at specific agency sites, and through research contracts pursued during the academic year. Additional research is linked to the Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory (DIAL), an interdisciplinary group involved with environmental research for DOE. Recent efforts in this area include:
- Pyroelectric Sensing for Potential Multimode Use
- Processing Techniques for Plume Analysis
- Dealing with Nonlinearity in Plume Spectra
- Technical Support for Dynamic Fluid Flow Simulation Capabilities for Ground Test Facility Modeling