Welcome from the President of the IEEE Control Systems Society

The IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC) is the premier conference organized by the Control Systems Society in cooperation with the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), the Japanese Society for Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE), and the European Control Association (EUCA). Now in its 63rd iteration, CDC continues to deliver strong and forward-looking technical content. In fact, by pretty much every measure, CDC is a highly successful conference in terms of participation and technical quality. But what exactly are the ingredients required to cook up such a successful conference?

In one of my Presidential Columns in the IEEE Control Systems Magazine, I asked the question of why people attend our conferences. The answers I got painted a clear picture. The number one reason people attend our conferences is to network and reconnect with friends and colleagues. A close second was to keep a finger on the technical pulse and see what is going on in the community. Reason number three was “interesting locations”. The 63rd CDC in Milan is certainly firing on all three of these cylinders; the technical program is great and as far as interesting locations go, Milan has a lot to offer - from San Siro to La Scala.

But, perhaps the most important (yet sometimes not explicitly acknowledged) reason why a conference is successful is great and dedicated organizers. As someone who has served as both General Chair and Program Chair for past CDCs, I know firsthand the effort and hard work that is required to pull off a conference of this scale and scope, and I have nothing but the outmost respect for the volunteers who take on this massive task. I want to thank the Co-General Chairs, Maria Prandini and Luca Zaccarian, the Program Chair, Sophie Tarbouriech, and all the members of the Organizing Committee for putting together a stellar conference.

While the organizing committee may be the public-facing side of the conference, I also want to thank the unsung heroes on the IEEE CSS Conference Editorial Board, chaired by Amir Aghdam. Together, they fight the Second Law of Thermodynamics by reducing the entropy in the world through the diligent organization and processing of thousands of papers, reviews, and editorial decisions.

As you navigate the 63rd CDC, take advantage of the program on display inside the session rooms. But don’t miss out on the informal program in-between talks and during coffee breaks. In fact, our conferences are ultimately all about community - technical as well as social. And I am very excited about the program that the organizers of the 63rd CDC have prepared for us.