Under control?  The hidden technology of automatic control past and future

Professor Malcolm Smith FREng FRS

  • Monday 12 October 2026, 17:30 – 18:30
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre, Cambridge
Upcoming event Booking Recommended In-person Lecture Michaelmas Term
  • Event cost: Free
  • Disabled access?: Yes
  • Booking required: No

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Overview

The origins and history of feedback control systems will be traced from the ancients through the industrial revolution and to modern times, with demonstrations. Also outlined will be the later development of the theory of control systems, which began with James Clerk Maxwell's 1868 paper on governors, together with examples including suspension systems, rocket landing, nuclear fusion, and feedback in biology. The lecture concludes with a discussion on whether human understanding will be needed to design control systems in the future.

Speaker Biographies

Malcolm Clive Smith is a British electrical engineer. He is a professor of control engineering at the University of Cambridge.


Location

Venue Address
Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre
Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry
29 Lensfield Rd
Cambridge CB2 1ER
01223 336300

The entrance to the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry can be found at the side of the Scott Polar Research Institute, opposite the boat. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre is located directly in the entrance as you enter the building. 

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