Curriculum Vitae

prof. Ing. Vladimír Kučera, DrSc., dr.h.c.

born:
  • December 27, 1943 in Prague
POSITIONS:
  • Professor, Czech Technical University in Prague
  • Vice Director and Distinguished Researcher, Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague
  • Emeritus Scientist, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
UNIVERSITY DEGREES AND TITLES:
  • 1966, Ing., Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague
  • 1970, CSc., Control Engineering, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
  • 1979, DrSc., Control Engineering, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
  • 1993, doc., Control Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague
  • 1996, prof., Control Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague
  • 2003, dr.h.c., Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse
  • 2005, dr.h.c., Université Henri Poincaré, Nancy
PROFESSIONAL CAREER:
  • Research Student, Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Czech. Acad. Sci. (1967 – 1970)
  • Research Scientist, Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Czech. Acad. Sci. (1970 – 2017)
  • Vice Director, Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Czech. Acad. Sci. (1986 – 1990)
  • Director, Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Czech. Acad. Sci. (1990 – 1998)
  • External Teacher, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Tech. Univ. (1992 – 1997)
  • Professor, Czech Tech. Univ. (1997 – present)
  • Head, Department of Control Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Tech. Univ. (1999 – 2000)
  • Dean, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Tech. Univ. (2000 – 2006)
  • Director, Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies (2007 – 2015)
  • Vice Director, Czech Institute of Informatics Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague (2015 – present)
VISITING POSITIONS:
  • National Research Council, Ottawa – Research Fellow (1970 – 1971)
  • The University of Florida, Gainesville (1977)
  • Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique, Nantes – maître de recherche CNRS (1981 – 1982)
  • Australian National University, Canberra (1984)
  • Uppsala Universitet (1989)
  • Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México (1991)
  • Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich (1992)
  • Tokyo Institute of Technology – Nippon Steel Professor at the Chair of Intelligent Control (1994)
  • Politecnico di Milano – professore (1995)

and a number of short assignments at European, American, Asian, and Australian universities

RESEARCH INTEREST AND RESULTS:
  • Systems theory, Automatic control
  • Optimal and robust control systems
  • Existence of steady-state solutions to matrix Riccati equations
  • Polynomial equation approach to control systems synthesis
  • Parameterization of stabilizing controllers, known as the Youla-Kučera parameterization
  • Resolution of a long-standing open problem of control theory, the decoupling of linear systems by static-state feedback
  • Discovery of the canonical form and the complete invariant of stable linear systems with respect to a group of stability-preserving transformations
UNIVERSITY COURSES:
  • Theory of Dynamical Systems
  • Modern Control Theory
  • Linear Systems
  • Algebraic Approach to Control Systems Synthesis
  • Space systems, modeling, and identification
RESEARCH PROJECTS:
  • ROBOPROX – Robotics and Advanced Industrial Production (MŠMT Operational Program Johanes Amos Comenius CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004590)
  • A&Reasoning – Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning  (MŠMT Operational Program Research, Development, and Education CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000466)
  • Complex systems for scheduling, planning, and control, National Competence Center – Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence (TN01000024/01)Draft prospects of the thematic areas of research, development, and innovation, responding to the context, content, and scope of the so-called fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) (TA ČR TB095TACR999)
  • Time-Delay Compensators for Flexible Systems (GA ČR GA16-17398S)
  • Center for Applied Cybernetics 3 (TAČR TE01020197)
  • Identification of Stochastic, Nonlinear Systems for Advanced Control (GAČR 103/12/1187)
  • Self-Learning Sheet Metal Forming System – LearnForm (EC NMP2-SL-2009-228346)
  • Center for Applied Cybernetics 2 (MŠMT 1M0567)
  • TALENT – Coordinated Education of Doctoral Students in Control Engineering and Robotics (GAČR 102/03/H116)
  • Center for Applied Cybernetics (MŠMT LN00B096)
  • Trnka Laboratory for Automatic Control (MŠMT VS97034)
  • Methods and Algorithms for Robust Control (GAČR 102/94/0294)
  • Robust Control Systems Design (GAČR 102/97/0861)
  • Tools and Methods of Computer Science, Cybernetics, and Information Transmission (AVČR K1-075601)
  • Intelligent System of Scientific Data Transmission and Processing (AVČR P1-075701)
  • Dynamic Control and Management Systems in Manufacturing Processes (CP94-1246)
  • Advanced Methodologies and Tools for Manufacturing Systems (CP97-0026)
  • The European Network for Industrial Application of Polynomial Design Methods (CP97-7010)
  • Dynamic Control and Management Systems in Manufacturing Processes – Phase 2 (CP97-7072)
  • Control Engineering Education and Research (NSF 7-IP-51791)

Principal investigator/co-investigator of 29 projects, with total support exceeding 1,150 M CZK (about 50 M USD)

selected publications:
  • Kučera V.: Algebraic Theory of Discrete Linear Control (in Czech). Academia, Prague 1978 (333 pp.)
  • Kučera V.: Discrete Linear Control: The Polynomial Equation Approach. Wiley, Chichester 1979 (206 pp.)
  • Kučera V.: Analysis and Design of Discrete Linear Control Systems. Prentice-Hall, London 1972 (472 pp.)
  • Grimble M.J., Kučera V.: Polynomial Methods for Control Systems Design. Springer, London 1996 (255 pp.)
  • 135 research articles published in the leading journals of the field of automatic control
  • 180 contributions published in conference proceedings
  • 80 other technical publications
CITATIONS:
  • Google Scholar citation service lists 8,327 citations of the works by Vladimír Kučera
  • The most cited work (Kučera V.: Discrete Linear Control: The Polynomial Equation Approach. Wiley, Chichester 1979) has earned 1,521 citations
  • h-index: 41
EDITORIAL BOARDS:
  • Kybernetika – Editor-in-Chief (1990 – 1998), Member (1998 – 2001)
  • Automatica – Associate Editor (1987 – 1996)
  • International Journal of Control (1990 – 1999)
  • International Journal of Systems Science (1986 – 1999)
  • Journal of Mathematical Systems, Estimation, and Control (1991 – 1998)
  • Systems & Control Letters (1987 – 1994)
  • Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1998 – present)
  • International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control (1993 – present)
  • Slaboproudý obzor (2001 – 2007)
  • Automa (2001 – 2007)
Professional societies:
  • International Federation of Automatic Control – Council Member (1987-1993), Vice President (1993-1999), President-Elect (1999-2002), President (2002-2005), Past President (2008-2008), Fellow (2007), Life Advisor (2008), IFAC Foundation Board of Trustees Member (2005-2017)
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – Fellow (1996, the first one ever in the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia), Control Systems Society Board of Governors Member (1996-1998), Founding Member of the Control Systems Society Czech and Slovak Chapter (1996), Life Fellow since 2017
  • Engineering Academy of the Czech Republic – Founding Member (1995), Fellow, and Vice President (1999-2006)
  • Czech Society for Cybernetics and Informatics – Member
  • American Philosophical Society – Member
boards and committees:
  • Accreditation Commission – Member (1996 – 2000)
  • Czech Committee for Automatic Control – Chairman (1993 – 2002)
  • Internal Evaluation Board, Czech Technical University in Prague – Member (2018 – present)
  • Scientific Council, Czech Technical University in Prague – Member (1991 – 2006), Extraordinary Member (2010 – 2018)
  • Scientific Council, the University of Technology in Brno – Member (2006 – 2014)
  • Scientific Council, the University of Western Bohemia in Plzeň – Member (1992 – present)
  • Scientific Council, the University of Tomáš Baťa in Zlín – Member (2001 – 2011)
  • Scientific Council, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Tech. Univ. – Member (1991 – 2000), Chairman (2000 – 2006), Member (2007 – 2015)
  • Scientific Council, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Tech. Univ. – Member (1997 – 2000)
  • Scientific Council, Faculty of Mechatronics, Technical University in Liberec – Member (1998 – 2007)
  • Scientific Council, Faculty of Management in Jindřichův Hradec, School of Economics in Prague – Member (2002 – 2008)
  • Scientific Council, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technology, the University of Technology in Brno, Member (2003 – 2006)
  • Scientific Council, Faculty of Applied Informatics, the University of Tomáš Baťa in Zlín – Member (2006 – 2010)
  • Council, Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. – Member (2007 – 2017)
  • Doctor of Science Degree in Engineering Cybernetics Standing Commission – Chairman (1990 – 2001)
  • Doctor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering Standing Commission – Chairman (1998 – 2001)
  • Doctor of Science Degree in Control and Automation Standing Commission – Member (1997 – 2010)
  • Doctor of Science Degree in Informatics and Cybernetics Standing Commission – Member (2003 – 2017)
  • Doctor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Optoelectronics and Photonics Standing Commission – Member (2003 – present)
  • Executive Jury, The European Information and Communication Technologies Prize – Member (1998 – 2007)
  • Advisory Board of DG-INFSO for Information Society Technologies – Member (2003 – 2007)
  • Technical Committee on Science and Engineering, Research and Development Council – Member (2003 – 2010)
  • Administrative Council of the European Union Control Association – Member (2003 – 2010)
  • Czech Committee for UNESCO – Member (2008 – 2019)
Awards and distinctions:
  • Prize of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (1973)
  • National Prize of the Czech Republic (1989)
  • Automatica Prize Paper Award (1990)
  • Hlávka Foundation Prize (1992)
  • Fellow IEEE (1996), the first ever in the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
  • Honorary Professor, Northeastern University, Shenyang (1996)
  • Distinguished Lecturer IEEE (1998)
  • Fellow IEE (2000)
  • Medal of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (2000)
  • Doctor honoris causa, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse (2003)
  • Doctor honoris causa, Université Henri Poincaré, Nancy (2005)
  • Felber Gold Medal, Czech Technical University in Prague (2006)
  • Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes Académiques, a national order of France for distinguished academics  (2006)
  • Fellow IFAC (2007)
  • Life Advisor IFAC (2008)
  • Prestigious Publication Award, Rector of Czech Technical University in Prague (2008)
  • Life Fellow IEEE (2017)
  • Czech Technical University 310th Jubilee Medal (2017)
  • Albín Bráf Memorial medal (2019)
  • Czech National Prize Česká hlava (Czech Mind) (2021)
  • IFAC System Structure and Control  Lifetime Achievement Award (2022)
  • Member of the American Philosophical Society; only three Czechs received this honor in the past – Presidents Masaryk, Beneš, and Havel.
language proficiency:
  • English, French, Russian, Basic German