Based on selected papers presented at the 19th International Federatio Includes essential data on exact boundary controllability of thermoela Written by more than 25 specialists in various disciplines Providing o ver 1700 equations, tables, and references, this state-of-the-art refe rence is an invaluable tool for mathematical analysts in control, opti mization, distributed systems, and modeling; applied mathematicians; c ontrol, electrical, and electronics engineers; computer scientists; an d upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines .

This volume presents developments and advances in modelling passive and active control systems governed by partial differential equations. It emphasizes shape analysis, optimal shape design, controllability, nonlinear boundary control, and stabilization. The authors include essential data on exact boundary controllability of thermoelastic plates with variable transmission coefficients.

Top researchers in optimization and control from around the world gathered in Detroit for the 18th annual IFIP TC7 Conference on Systems Modelling and Optimization held in July 1997. The papers offered in this volume were selected from among the 250 plenary, invited, and contributed works presented at the conference. The editors chose these papers to represent the myriad and diverse range of topics within the field -in theory and applications-and to disseminate important new results. The editors have organized the book into seven sections: -Distributed Parameter Systems -Modelling -Optimal Control and Nonsmoooth Analysis -Automotive -Optimization and Operations Research -Applications - Reliability Each section contains important advances in theoretical development of optimization and control, new results, and discussions of applications. Treatment of numerous and wide- ranging applications-from turbulent flows, European option pricing, and storage location, to wear processes, passive fire protection, and robotics-make this resource important for academic and industrial researchers working in a variety of areas in systems engineering and applied mathematics.