Aims
The International Federation of Automatic Control, founded in September 1957, is a multinational federation of National Member Organizations (NMOs), each one representing the engineering and scientific societies concerned with automatic control in its own country.
The purpose of the Federation is to promote the science and technology of control in the broadest sense in all systems, whether, for example, engineering, physical, biological, social or economic, in both theory and application. IFAC is also concerned with the impact of control technology on society.
The primary objective of the Federation is to serve all those concerned with the theory and application of automatic control and systems engineering, wherever situated. To further this aim, it maintains working relationships with other organizations, national or international, especially with other non-governmental professional federations.
IFAC provides a framework for collaboration between those working in automatic control and systems engineering, irrespective of race, creed or colour, or of geographic location, and promotes free exchange of ideas and experts within its professional fields.
The Federation pursues its purpose by organizing technical meetings, by publications, and by any other means consistent with its constitution and which will enhance the interchange and circulation of information on automatic control activities. International World Congresses are held every three years. Between congresses, IFAC sponsors many symposia, conferences and workshops covering particular aspects of automatic control. IFAC closely cooperates with many other international organizations by mutually co-sponsoring technical meetings.
The Federation does not become involved in any kind of political activity, nor does it take a position in any such issue. IFAC does not take part in any commercial activity with the explicit aim to acquire financial gain.
The official journals of IFAC are Automatica, Control Engineering Practice, Annual Reviews in Control, the Journal of Process Control, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, the Journal on Mechatronics and Nonlinear Analysis: Hybrid Systems to which one may subscribe by writing to the publisher, Elsevier Science Ltd.
Information on activities appears on the IFAC website and in the bi-monthly IFAC Newsletter. The latest Newsletter is distributed via e-mail by the IFAC Secretariat, while archived Newsletters can be downloaded from the IFAC website. (Please complete the on-line registration to receive the bi-monthly Newsletter via e-mail.)
