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Seminar Series and Workshop on Biological Control Systems

The IFAC Activity Fund supported a Seminar Series and Workshop on Biological Control Systems to foster collaboration between control engineers and biologists on complex biological systems. The initiative included monthly online lectures, an active Slack community, and an annual online workshop featuring poster sessions. Key accomplishments include establishing an international seminar series, engaging over 500 Slack members, and connecting theoretical control approaches with biological research.

Derik le Roux Administrator · Updated 25-August-2026

Introduction

The IFAC Activity Fund supported a successful Seminar Series and Workshop on Biological Control Systems. The activity aimed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange between control engineers and biologists regarding the modeling, analysis, and control of complex biological systems. The series included lectures from leading experts and a hands-on workshop, attracting a diverse group of participants and initiating new research collaborations in this emerging field.

Project Details

  • Project Lead: Christian Cuba Samaniego, Carnegie Mellon University; [email protected]
  • IFAC Sponsor: TC 2.1 Control Design
  • Project Date: During 2024 and 2025

Main Article Content

Activity Details During 2024 and 2025, supported by the IFAC Activity Fund grant, we organized monthly online seminars and an annual online workshop at the intersection of Control Theory and Biological Systems. We coordinated the logistics to identify and invite early-career researchers from both theoretical and experimental backgrounds. Each seminar was promoted through our social media channels and Slack community, and recordings of the talks were uploaded to our YouTube channel. We also fostered engagement within the Slack community by hosting discussions on recent papers related to biocontrol. For the annual workshop, we managed all organizational aspects, including defining the program structure, inviting and selecting speakers, and promoting the event. During the workshop, we also organized an online poster session to create an interactive space for members of the community to connect and discuss their work.

Accomplishments The Activity Fund support played an important role in enabling the development of this community initiative. Key outcomes include the establishment of a sustained international seminar series, the organization of large-scale online workshops attracting hundreds of participants, the creation of an active Slack community with more than 500 members, and engagement of researchers across control theory, systems biology, and biotechnology. Importantly, the initiative has helped expose researchers in biology and biotechnology to control-theoretic approaches, while also highlighting new theoretical challenges to the control community.

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