Professor Vadim I. Utkin, a distinguished Russian-born control systems innovator, addressed 21 engineers at a meeting of the Huntsville Chapter of the IEEE Control Systems Society on April 24, 2003, at the Tom Bevill Center on the UAH campus. Dr. Utkin received a Ph.D. and Doctor of Sciences from the Institute of Control Sciences in Moscow, and is currently a member of the electrical engineering faculty at the Ohio State University. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Control, Chairman of the Technical Committee of IEEE on Variable Structure and Sliding Mode Control, and a member of Administrative Committee of IEEE Control System Society. Professor Utkin talked on "sliding mode" control, an area where he has been recognized for his pioneering research.

As he explained, sliding mode control is a phenomenon in relay or "bang-bang" control systems in which the control variable switches back and forth across a boundary determined by a switch function. The state follows a trajectory along the switching boundary while "sliding" toward a stable point or set of points. Dr. Utkin discussed the theoretical basis of sliding mode control and provided examples of applications including control of electric motors and generators, robots, flexible structures, automobile engines, and braking systems.

In response to the interest expressed by the attendees, copies of Dr. Utkin's charts can be obtained from Charles M. Bishop at charles.m.bishop2@boeing.com. Dr. Utkin invites comments and suggestions for additional applications of his sliding mode control theory. Please submit your comments and suggestions to Charles M. Bishop at charles.m.bishop2@boeing.com or Dr. Yuri Shtessel at shtessel@ece.uah.edu