Control and Dynamical Systems
Why Study Control and Dynamical Systems?
Minoring in control and dynamical systems (CDS) at Caltech amplifies the skillset of any engineering or science major with the advanced mathematics necessary to build, control, analyze, and innovate complex systems that change over time—think AI identifying patterns in biomedical feedback, predictive models of weather or economic markets, or how a Mars rover understands and responds to its environment. The control and dynamical systems minor equips you as a future scientist or engineer to study complex phenomena and design systems that effectively monitor or control them.
Why Control and Dynamical Systems at Caltech?
Interdisciplinary connections at the heart of Caltech mean that breakthroughs in neural circuits and brain activity, smart sensing, and theoretical math and statistics are at your fingertips, whether you major in mechanical engineering, chemistry, bioengineering, applied physics, business, economics, or another field. Connect with experts ready to facilitate connections that help you achieve your goals of using computing, science, and engineering to solve problems in areas that are sophisticated and in flux by nature—mental health and illness, navigation and flight systems, or autonomous robotic vehicles.
Caltech's learning opportunities go beyond calculating the strength and stability of linear systems to include cutting-edge research with leading minds worldwide. This happens in classrooms, where top mathematicians, engineers, statisticians, and research scientists are close to your learning, and also in immersive practical internships or Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs).
What You'll Learn
The CDS minor teaches mathematical foundations, advanced and experimental computational methods, practical applications of feedback control, system optimization, and dynamic analysis. You'll develop expertise in designing algorithmic systems that automatically regulate complex processes, analyze system stability and performance, and optimize system behaviors under uncertainty.
Learn to apply feedback control systems, state-space analysis, and nonlinear dynamics to real-world applications like autonomous vehicles, robotics, and engineered systems. The curriculum emphasizes classical control theory and modern state-space methods, focusing on practical design tradeoffs in fields such as medical monitoring and aerospace. Through a senior thesis, conduct independent research in control and dynamical systems under faculty supervision, gaining experience in complex system analysis, estimation, guidance, and navigation.
View the Caltech catalog for degree requirements and curriculum information.
Who You'll Learn From
Learn from over 40 faculty members in the Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, as well as faculty experts across disciplines in the Division of Applied Science and Engineering. Our professors are leading researchers in information theory, signal processing, control theory, and machine learning, with expertise that spans wireless communications, neural networks, bipedal robots, the spread of epidemics, and advanced statistics. In core courses and your primary field of study, these experts continue to open doors to opportunities such as research engagements and internships in SURFs from their global networks.
One of the things that I'm very interested in is the idea that the images we take with our cameras right now are optimized for human consumption. But if you're actually taking data, right, for AI to do analysis, right, maybe what we're taking in right now to our camera isn't the most optimal. We may want to actually end up designing cameras to take data in such a way that the images may not actually be interpretable by humans, but are actually better suited for AI to do analysis with.
Career Possibilities
Specialized expertise in advanced computing related to dynamic systems is highly valuable for many industries where complexity is the norm and agility and innovation are the goal. These include energy, aerospace, biomedical engineering, epidemiology, financial services, information technology, and more. Your abilities to design and optimize even the most complex models and systems lead to role opportunities contributing to and leading projects that create the systems of the future, including:
- Specialized consultant
- Control systems engineer
- Software engineer
- Robotics engineer
- Research assistant
Your ability to research and develop new control strategies and applications and think and write like an academic opens opportunities for graduate school in control systems theory, robotics, engineering, and related fields.
Curriculum Components and Prerequisites
The control and dynamical systems minor curriculum complements your primary undergraduate degree, building on strong mathematical foundations of the Caltech first-year core to emphasize experimental computational methods and practical applications of control theory or dynamical systems theory. Requirements for the minor include:
- Core CDS course sequence
- Advanced control theory methods
- Specialized electives in nonlinear dynamics, adaptive control, or application-specific topics
- Independent senior thesis project on CDS topics in your primary field(s) of study
Pursue a Minor in Control and Dynamical Systems at Caltech
Launch your career in intelligent technologies by setting the stage for your contributions to the next generation of industries with Caltech's control and dynamical systems minor program. For any STEM fields you pursue, the minor's practical experience and an unmatched mathematical and computing skillset prepare you to achieve your goals fueled by curiosity, equipping you for graduate study and careers at the forefront of technological innovation.