Roger Ware Brockett (October 22, 1938 – March 19, 2023) was an 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 the

An Wang An Wang (; February 7, 1920 – March 24, 1990) was a Chinese-American computer engineer and inventor, and cofounder of computer company Wang Laboratories, which was known primarily for its dedicated word processing machines. An Wang was an im ...

Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, who founded th
Harvard Robotics Laboratory
in 1983. Brockett became a member of 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 1991 for outstanding contributions to the theory and practice of linear and nonlinear control systems.

Biography

Brockett was born on October 22, 1938, in

Seville, Ohio Seville is a village in Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,335 at the 2020 census. History Seville was platted in 1828. It was named after Seville, in Spain. A post office was established in Seville in 1830. Geography A ...

, to Roger Lawrence and Grace Ester (Patch) Brockett. Brockett received his B.S. from

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

in 1960, and continued on to receive his

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in 1962 and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1964 from

as well. His Ph.D. dissertation was ''The Invertibility of Dynamic Systems with Application to Control'' under the supervision of

Mihajlo D. Mesarovic Mihajlo D. Mesarovic (Gaj's Latin alphabet, Serbian Latin: ''Mihajlo D. Mesarović'', Serbian Cyrillic: Михајло Д. Месаровић; born 2 July 1928) is a Serbian scientist, who is a professor of Systems Engineering and Mathematics at ...

. At Case Western, Brockett was classmates with

Donald Knuth Donald Ervin Knuth ( ; born January 10, 1938) is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is the 1974 recipient of the ACM Turing Award, informally considered the Nobel Prize of comp ...

. After teaching at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

from 1963 to 1969, he joined the faculty at

. At Harvard, Brockett became the Gordon McKay Professor of

Applied Mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

and in 1989 the

Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Brockett was known for his work on

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

and linear differential systems; in 1970 he published the textbook ''Finite Dimensional Linear Systems.'' Brockett has advised over 50 students, including Daniel Liberzon, Jan Willems, David Dobkin, John Baras, P. S. Krishnaprasad, and

John Baillieul John Baillieul (born May 13, 1945) is an American control theorist and distinguished professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. Baillieul is a fellow of the International Federation of Automatic Control, the Insti ...

. After experiencing a series of cardiac events, Brockett died at

Yale New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second-largest hospital in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Med ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, on March 19, 2023, at the age of 84.

Awards and honors

Brockett received several awards and honors, including: *

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

(IEEE) since 1974 * Member of the

in 1991 * In 1989 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 ...

from the

American Automatic Control Council The American Automatic Control Council (AACC) is an organization founded in 1957 for research in control theory. AACC is a member of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) and is an association of the control systems divisions of ...

* In 1991 the

IEEE Control Systems Science and Engineering Award The IEEE Control Systems Award is a technical field award given to an individual by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "for outstanding contributions to control systems engineering, science or technology". It is an IEEE- ...

* In 1996 the "W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize in Mathematics" from the

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is a professional society dedicated to applied mathematics, computational science, and data science through research, publications, and community. SIAM is the world's largest scientific soci ...

* In 2005 the

Rufus Oldenburger Medal The Rufus Oldenburger Medal is an award given by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognizing significant contributions and outstanding achievements in the field of automatic control. It was established in 1968 in the honor of Rufus O ...

from the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

* In 2009 the IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award * In 2012 he became a fellow of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

. * In 2014 the John R. Ragazzini Award from the

* In 2017 th
Quazza Medal
from the

International Federation of Automatic Control The International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), founded in September 1957 in France, is a multinational federation of 49 national member organizations (NMO), each one representing the engineering and scientific societies concerned with a ...

References

External links

Brockett's web page
at Harvard

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

.
Memorial page
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brockett, Roger W. 1938 births 2023 deaths Case Western Reserve University alumni American control theorists Fellows of the IEEE Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences faculty MIT School of Engineering faculty American roboticists Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award recipients Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering People from Seville, Ohio Engineers from Ohio