IFAC Newsletter - August 2025 - The International Federation of Automatic Control

IFAC Newsletter – August 2025

View and download the August 2025 issue of the Newsletter.

Derik le Roux Administrator · Updated 16-August-2026

Contents in this issue are:

IFAC and the Use of AI Tools
The IFAC position on the use of AI-tools in writing and reviewing papers is summarized.
IFAC Fellows 2023-2026
The 25 IFAC Fellows associated with the 2023-2026 triennium are briefly introduced. More details on the new IFAC Fellows will follow in the upcoming newsletters.
IFAC Major Awards 2023-2026
The winners for the five IFAC major awards in the 2023-2026 triennium are briefly introduced. More details on the award winners will follow in the upcoming newsletters.
President’s Column
Dong-Il “Dan” Cho presents the outcome of the task force (TF) on IFAC’s Two-Year vs. Three-Year Cycle. The TF concluded that a 2-year cycle offers advantages in responsiveness, participation, and opportunity. However, it would reduce the 3-year prestige that IFAC currently holds, and the efforts needed to implement the change would outweigh the benefits. Therefore, the final recommendation is to retain the current 3-year cycle.
Harold Chestnut Control Engineering Textbook Prize
The submission portal for nominations for the 2023-2026 Harold Chestnut Engineering Textbook Prize opens mid-October 2025.
IFAC Activity Fund Report
The project “(Re)Creative Mobile Robotics for Kids” proposes new on-site perennial interactive workshops for children and youths to develop practical skills on mobile robots and drones, motivating them to continue their curriculum in engineering.
IFAC Affiliates Portal statistics
The newsletter presents further statistics about IFAC affiliates from the portal with a focus on fields of interest.
Transition: Shankar Prasad Bhattacharyya
We are moved by the sad news that recently Professor Bhattacharyya passed away at the age of 78 years.
IFAC Conference Report (EDT 2025)
The 1st IFAC Workshop on Engineering Diabetes Technologies (EDT) was held in Valencia, Spain, from May 8 to 9, 2025.
IFAC Council & Related Meetings 2025
The 2025 IFAC Council and Related Meetings took place in Paris (FR) in July 2025. It has been decided that Dimitri Peaucelle (FR) will serve as IFAC President 2029-2032 and that the IFAC World Congress 2032 will take place in Hawaii (US).
Calendar of upcoming IFAC Conferences

Related from Activity Fund

Build, Control and Fly: Mini-drone Activities

The project aims to engage a diverse range of young people in interactive learning experiences with a focus on control engineering. High-school students will have the opportunity to explore, construct, program, and operate small aerial drones in the form of a hands-on workshop. In addition, captivating drone flight demonstrations will be conducted to educate the broader public.

Activities 27-Aug-2026

Empowering Tomorrow’s Innovators: Unleashing the Potential of Girls in Control Engineering in South Africa

Three control face-to-face workshops have been conducted since 2022 in the Zululand region for 138 girls from three primary schools aged 9 to 15 years. This project will support additional workshops for girls, in Zululand and other parts of the country.

Activities 27-Aug-2026

Teaching Analytics: a feedback control approach to aid student self-assessment in higher education.

The project Teaching Analytics: a feedback control approach to aid student self-assessment in higher education focuses on developing an open web platform to help teachers share assessment materials globally. Teachers can upload, categorize, and search for exam questions in standard LaTeX format. Students can answer these questions online to track their learning progress through personalized concept maps.

Activities 25-Aug-2026

Zoom Workshop Series on Control Systems and Data Science towards Industry 4.0

This workshop series highlights the integration of control systems theory, data science, and machine learning to advance Industry 4.0 applications. Organized by S. Joe Qin from the City University of Hong Kong, the three-module online event brought together global experts and industry leaders. It covered key topics including predictive analytics, process automation in chemical and biological engineering, and machine learning for electrical systems.

Activities 25-Aug-2026

Development of an interactive wave energy exhibition tank to demonstrate energy-maximising control

This project resulted in the design and construction of an interactive wave energy demonstration tank. The equipment shows the importance of control in the efficient conversion of wave energy, while highlighting the benefits of renewable sources of energy to diverse audiences, including the non-technical public and other technical disciplines.

Activities 25-Aug-2026

Pocket-Sized Portable Labs: Control Engineering Practice Made Easy

Pocket-Sized Portable Labs: Control Engineering Practice Made Easy demonstrates how simple experiments using compact, microcontroller-based kits like Arduino and Raspberry Pi can inspire students to study control engineering. Organized under the Portuguese Association for Automatic Control and led by Paulo Moura Oliveira, the project utilized the Temperature Control Laboratory (TCLab) kit to bring hands-on learning into classrooms and homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Activities 25-Aug-2026