Lennart Ljung Oral History

Lennart Ljung was born in 1946 in Malmö, Sweden. He attended Lund University and earned a B.A. in Russian Language and Mathematics in 1967, a M.S. in Engineering Physics in 1970, and a Ph.D. in Automatic Control in 1974. Ljung served on the academic staff at the Lund Institute of Technology from 1968 until 1976 when he became Professor of Automatic Control at Linköping University in Sweden. He served as the head of the Control division and Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Linköping Institute of Technology and Director of the NUTEK/VINNOVA Competence Center ISIS, and is currently Director of the Strategic Research Center MOVIII. Ljung’s research focuses on model building, system identification and adaptation, resulting in numerous degrees and awards, several publications and articles, and extensive contributions to the field of Control Theory. In this interview, Ljung outlines his research in Control Theory and his contributions to the field. He discusses his career influences, his research methods, and his experiences. He reflects on the challenges and achievements throughout his career, such as the creation of the Linköping group, his development of the MATLAB system identification toolbox, and the publishing of his book System Identification: Theory for the User, as well as provides advice for young people interested in control theory. http://ethw.org/Oral-History:Lennart_Ljung