The evolution of systems analysis and control: a personal perspective

The foundations of systems analysis and control as we know them today were laid for the most part at MIT's Radiation Laboratory during World War II and a period thereafter. Most of the founders-both in the United States and abroad-are no longer with us. As one who had the privilege of knowing Wiener, Bode, Nyquist, Guillemin, Gordon Brown, Sam Mason, John Coales, Aizerman, Pontryagin, Letov, Bellman, and many others, I present some personal perceptions and reminiscences in this paper. However, in view of the vastness of the subject, I touch upon only a small subset of the issues and events that were at the center of attention.