Welcome to ACC 2013 - Greetings from the AACC President

American Control Conferences (ACCs) are attended by about 1,400 individuals, representing countries throughout the world, from all science/math/engineering disciplines, and from both the research and practice communities. Several papers presented in ACCs have become landmark publications for original leading theories and practice techniques. Consequently, the conference provides a unique opportunity for participants to network and exchange ideas with the best minds, and it has always been a stimulating experience. The American Automatic Control Council (AACC) is the umbrella organization responsible for organizing this annual conference and representing its member societies to the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). AACC was established in 1957, paralleling the foundation of IFAC. The AACC Board of Directors is composed of representatives from each of eight member societies (AIAA, AIChE, ASCE, ASME, IEEE, ISA, SCS, and SIAM) and is responsible for the policies and selection of key personnel in all aspects of the AACC activities, such as the General and Program Chairs for this ACC. In turn, they select the Operating and Program Committees, which participate in the selection of plenary speakers, in putting together the conference program, and in setting the general tone of the conference. The AACC Board is also responsible for the AACC awards, which are presented during the ACC. All participants are volunteers, and at any one time there are about 200 active as leaders. Including authors, reviewers and participants, the AACC engages an estimated 8,000 individuals each year. The AACC represents the United States to IFAC and usually holds ACCs within the USA.