Effective control concepts and applications date back over millennia. One very familiar example of this is the windmill. It was designed to derive maximum benefit from windflow, a simple but highly effective optimization technique. Harold Hazen's 1932 paper in the Journal of the Franklin Institute was one of the earlier reference points wherein an analytical framework for modem control theory was established. There were many other notable landmarks along the way, including the MIT Radiation Laboratory Series volume on servomechanisms, the Brown and Campbell book, Principles of Servomechanisms, and Bode's book entitled Nem'ork Analysis and Syntheses Techniques, all published shortly after mid-1945. However, it remained for Kalman's papers of the late 1950s (wherein a foundation for modem state space techniques was established) and the tremendous evolution of digital computer technology (which was underpinned by the continuous giant advances in integrated electronics) for truly powerful control systems techniques for increasingly complex systems to be developed. Today we can look forward to a future that is rich in possibilities in many areas of major significance, including manufacturing systems, electric power systems, robotics, and aerospace systems, as well as many other systems with significant economic, safety, cost, and reliability implications. Thus, this volume is devoted to the most timely theme of "Discrete-Time System Analysis and Design Techniques."

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