Episodes

  • ep40 - Jeff Shamma: gain scheduling, nonlinear control, learning & dissipativity in games, jiu-jitsu
    Jan 15 2026

    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.

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    2 hrs and 11 mins
  • ep39 - Female influencers in control
    Dec 16 2025

    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.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • ep38 - inControl guide to ... Feedback
    Nov 17 2025

    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.

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • ep37 - A. M. Lyapunov: The General Problem of Stability of Motion
    Oct 16 2025

    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.

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • ep36 - Markos Papageorgiou: Traffic Control — Theory and Practice
    Sep 15 2025

    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.

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    2 hrs and 14 mins
  • ep35 - Cosimo Della Santina: From Dexterous Manipulation to Soft Robotics and Embodied Intelligence
    Aug 15 2025

    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.

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    1 hr and 47 mins
  • ep34 - inControl guide to ... Controllability & Observability
    Jul 17 2025

    Outline

    00:00 - Intro
    01:06 - The big idea
    03:42 - Controllability, observability, and ... the space race!
    14:52 - Kálmán and the state-space paradigm
    00:00 - The math and intuition: state-space basics, definitions, and duality
    00:00 - A touch of nonlinearity
    00:00 - Developments in the field: a chronological tour
    00:00 - Controllability and observability: quo vaditis?
    00:00 - Outro

    Links
    Kálmán: https://tinyurl.com/bdzj7mtr
    Controllability: https://tinyurl.com/28s5zxpn
    Observability: https://tinyurl.com/yjxncxdn
    Paper - "Contributions to the theory of optimal control": https://tinyurl.com/9wwf8pvh
    Paper - "Discovery and Invention": https://tinyurl.com/ryfn463n
    Kálmán's speech - Kyoto Prize : https://tinyurl.com/2ahrjdah
    Paper - Controllability of complex networks: https://tinyurl.com/3zk99n4s


    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.

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    59 mins
  • ep33 - Mathukumalli Vidyasagar: control synthesis, robotics, randomized algorithms, learning, compressed sensing, non-convex optimization
    Jun 16 2025

    Outline

    00:00 - Intro

    00:42 - “Research should be fun”

    02:02 - Early steps in research

    09:00 - Book writing and meeting C. Desoer

    18:33 - Control synthesis via the factorization approach

    25:46 - The graph metric

    29:27 - Robotics and CAIR

    36:00 - Randomized algorithms

    40:41 - On learning

    44:05 - Neural networks

    48:40 - Tata, hidden Markov models, and large deviations theory

    55:48 - Picking problems and role of luck

    58:07 - Compressed sensing and non-convex optimization

    01:02:17 - Interplay between control and machine learning

    01:09:10 - Advice to future students

    01:13:29 - Future of control

    Links

    Sagar’s website: https://tinyurl.com/4hwruajs

    Hilbert: https://tinyurl.com/ykpdh929

    Feedback Systems: https://tinyurl.com/2k3jsdat

    How to Write Mathematics: https://tinyurl.com/35794bv9

    Nonlinear systems: https://tinyurl.com/2fdtnjcm

    C. Desoer: https://tinyurl.com/svhknren

    Control Systems Synthesis — A Factorization Approach: https://tinyurl.com/59wdc4sv

    Aryabhata: https://tinyurl.com/43x6hfhp

    A Brief History of the Graph Topology: https://tinyurl.com/49uftzdk

    Robot Dynamics and Control: https://tinyurl.com/5b4cmt7m

    CAIR: https://tinyurl.com/rajdtxax

    Randomized algorithms for robust controller synthesis using statistical learning theory: https://tinyurl.com/wanpyeuc

    R. Tempo: https://tinyurl.com/jkufdwar

    VC dimension: https://tinyurl.com/mvwk8afm

    Learning and Generalisation: https://tinyurl.com/2s3mzh8h

    Are Analog Neural Networks Better Than Binary Neural Networks? https://tinyurl.com/3fnk27xc

    Hidden Markov Processes: https://tinyurl.com/t5frrvfz

    An Introduction to Compressed Sensing: https://tinyurl.com/fc6a8eer

    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.

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    1 hr and 18 mins