John Valentine Breakwell (1917 – April 16, 1991) was a noted American

control theorist Control theory is a field of control engineering and applied mathematics that deals with the control of dynamical systems in engineered processes and machines. The objective is to develop a model or algorithm governing the application of system ...

and a Professor of

Astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field. The term ''astronautics' ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He is remembered for his contributions to the "science and applications of astrodynamics, for discovery of flight-trajectory optimization, and for outstanding academic service." He was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 1981 and a recipient of the

Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award The Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award is an annual award (since 1979) given by the American Automatic Control Council (AACC) for achievements in control theory, named after the applied mathematician Richard E. Bellman. The award is given fo ...

in 1983.

References

External links

NAE profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breakwell, John Valentine American control theorists Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award recipients 1917 births 1991 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Harvard University alumni Swiss emigrants to the United States Stanford University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty