Nationality British Notable awards FREng; FIEEE Fields Control engineering | Name Malcolm Smith Role Electrical engineer | |
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Institutions University of Cambridge; Ohio State University Thesis A Generalised Nyquist/Root-Locus Theory for Multi-Loop Feedback Systems (1982) Known for contributions to feedback control and systems theory | ||
Alma mater University of Cambridge Institution University of Cambridge | ||
Malcolm Clive Smith FREng, FIEEE is a British electrical engineer. He is a professor of control engineering at the University of Cambridge. He is notable for his contributions to feedback control and systems theory. He is also the inventor of the inerter, used in mechanical network synthesis.
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Career
Smith studied at the University of Cambridge (BA 1978, MPhil 1979, PhD 1982); his doctoral thesis was entitled "A Generalised Nyquist/Root-Locus Theory for Multi-Loop Feedback Systems". He worked in various research and academic posts, becoming an assistant professor at Ohio State University. In 1990, he moved to the University of Cambridge where he became a professor of control engineering and a fellow of Gonville and Caius College.
Smith's research has dealt with both theoretical contributions to control and practical applications, particularly in the automotive and motorsport domains. A notable contribution was the development of the inerter,' which removed some of the previous limitations on passive network synthesis. When awarding him a fellowship, the IEEE cited Smith's 'contributions to feedback control and systems theory'.
As of early 2014, Smith is head of the Control Group within the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering.
Awards
Smith has received the following notable awards: