Conference on Optimal Control and Nonsmooth Analysis

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports U.S. participants in the conference entitled, "Geometric Control and Nonsmooth Analysis," to be held June 2006 in Rome, Italy. This is an interdisciplinary conference that is comprised of over thirty talks by prominent researchers in control theory and nonlinear analysis from seven countries. Topics include Hamilton-Jacobi equations, controllability of nonlinear partial differential equations, set-valued differentials, stabilization, and variational analysis. The conference features cutting edge research topics that were pioneered and greatly impacted by H. Hermes and R. T. Rockafellar, who will be featured speakers. The meeting is held over four days and includes plenary talks by prominent mathematicians and control engineers, shorter lectures by young and emerging researchers, and moderated discussions on open problems. The research themes of the conference are control theory and optimization, which provide the theoretical foundations that underlie many modern technologies including aeronautics, biomathematics, communications, manufacturing, models of climate change, and many others. They lie at the interface between real-world applications and abstract mathematical theory required for the development of effective models. This conference actively promotes interdisciplinary opportunities for young researchers and graduate students interested in applied controls and optimization to interact with the established control and nonsmooth analysis communities. A sizable portion of this award provides support to graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and members of under-represented groups without other means of travel support that allows them to participate in the conference. The intellectual merit is the placement of an intellectual landmark in the advancement of knowledge, comprehension, and interaction between the engineering and mathematical control theory communities. Broad dissemination of the conference papers will be assured through the publication of proceedings by a major publisher.