Rolf Isermann studied Mechanical Engineering and obtained the Dr.-Ing. degree in 1965 from the University of Stuttgart. In 1968 he became "Privatdozent" for Automatic Control and since 1972 Professor in Control Engineering at the University of Stuttgart. From 1977-2006 he was Professor for Control Systems and Process Automation at the Institute of Automatic Control of the Darmstadt University of Technology. Since 2006 he is Professor emeritus and is head of the Research Group of Control Systems and Process Automation. R. Isermann received the Dr. h.c. (honoris causa) from L'Université Libre de Bruxelles and from the Polytechnic University in Bucharest. In 1996 he was awarded the VDE-Ehrenring , and in 2007 the VDI-Ehrenmitglied . The MIT Technology Review Magazine awarded him in 2003 to the Top Ten representatives of emerging Technologies for the field of Mechatronics. R. Isermann has published books on Modeling of Technical Processes, Process Identification, Digital Control Systems, Adaptive Control Systems, Mechatronic Systems, Fault Diagnosis Systems, Engine Control and Vehicle Drive Dynamics Control. Current research concentrates on the fields of identification and digital control of nonlinear systems, intelligent control and model-based methods of process fault diagnosis with applications to servo systems, fault-tolerant systems, combustion engines, automobiles and mechatronic systems. The research group on combustion engines works on multivariable engine modeling, HiL-simulation, combustion pressure control and fault diagnosis of both, CR-Diesel engines and FSI-gasoline engines. In the vehicle dynamics group present topics are parameter estimation for drive dynamics control, fault detection of sensors, suspensions, tires and brake systems and the development of collision avoidance systems with surrounding sensing and active braking and steering. The first books on system identification were published in German and date back to 1971, 1974, 1988, and1992. Since 1975, R. Isermann held several chair positions of IFAC-Technical Committees (International Federation of Automatic Control). In 1996, he was elected as Vice-President of IFAC until 2002. From 2002 to 2008, he was member of the IFAC-Council. R. Isermann organized several national and international conferences like the 5th IFAC Symposium on Identification in Darmstadt in 1979, the 10th IFAC-World-Congress in Munich 1987, the 1st IFAC-Symposium SAFEPROCESS, Baden-Baden, 1991 and the 1st IFAC-Conference on Mechatronic Systems, Darmstadt, 2000. He also organized the biannual VDI/VDE-Conference AUTOREG (control of vehicles and power trains) from 2002 to 2008.
Marco Muenchhof has studied electrical engineering at TU Darmstadt, Germany, and obtained a diploma (Dipl.-Ing.) and a doctoral degree (Dr.-Ing.) respectively. His doctoral thesis investigates fault detection and diagnosis methods for hydraulic servo axes. In addition to his studies in the field of electricalengineering, he holds a masters degree (M. S./SUNY) in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA. His research interests are in the fields of system identification, fault management for hydraulic/mechatronic systems, adaptive control, and control of flexible structures. For IFAC, the International Federation of Automatic Control, Marco Muenchhof had served as vice chair of the Technical Committee 4.1 (Components and Technologies for Control) in the triennium 2005-2008 and currently serves as chair for the triennium that ends in 2011. Also, he has been a member of International Program Committees of several conferences. Since 2006, he has been teaching the course Identification of Dynamic Systems at TU Darmstadt, which is a 14 week graduate level course on the topic of system identification. In the area of fault management, he has given semi-plenary lectures at the European Control Conference 2009 and the 7th IFAC Symposium on Fault Detection, Supervision and Safety of Technical Processes. Further information can be found on his homepage www.muenchhof.net.
