An interdisciplinary, interdepartmental control systems laboratory

The existing US paradigm of individual departmental laboratories is increasingly difficult to justify due to the interdisciplinary nature of modern control engineering, the high cost and rapid obsolescence of technology, and the demands on faculty time. A shift from departmental labs to college labs is advocated for pedagogical, as well as financial, reasons. Because laboratories are a common resource to all departments, they can be funded at the college level and can be administered by faculty from the various engineering departments. This structure has been in place for ten years at Illinois and has proven to be an effective approach to undergraduate control systems education.