As President of the American Automatic Control Council (AACC), I am happy to welcome you to the 2009 American Control Conference. Every third year the ACC is held in the Midwest (or, more correctly, not on the east or west coast, since “Midwest” conference locations have ranged from Pittsburgh to Denver), and this is the first time for St. Louis, the “Gateway to the West” (as represented by the Gateway Arch only a short distance from the conference hotel). My first visit to St. Louis was for the 1966 All-Star game, on a sunny, 106° F day (yes kids, the all-star game used to be played during the daytime) at Busch Memorial Stadium (when Anheuser Busch was an American company). Unfortunately, the Cardinals are not in-town this week, but there appear to be plenty of late spring activities available to conference attendees.
The American Automatic Control Council (AACC) is the umbrella organization responsible for organizing the annual American Control Conference and representing the member societies in the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). The AACC board of directors, composed of representatives from each of the eight member societies, meets twice a year, at the ACC and CDC. The board is responsible for the nomination and selection of the General and Program Chairs for each conference, and approval of the budget for each ACC. The General and Program chairs select the Operating and Programming Committees, select plenary speakers and special sessions, and set the general tone of the conference. This year, like last year, there is a decoupling of the Awards Ceremony from the Awards Luncheon, which will allow us to focus on the awardees during the ceremony and to give you more time to converse with your colleagues during the luncheon.
On behalf of the AACC, I thank Karlene Hoo (General Chair), John Chiasson (Program Chair) and all of the operating and programming committee members for their efforts to make this a successful conference. While I also thank each of the AACC executive committee and board of directors’ members for their efforts in the AACC operation, I especially thank Pradeep Misra, who acts as a utility infielder (sometimes playing several positions simultaneously) for all things ACC.
I hope that you all enjoy the conference.
Wayne Bequette
AACC President, 2008-9