Howard Rosenbrock

Biography

Howard Rosenbrock was born on December 16, 1920 in Essex, England. He was educated in undergraduate studies at University College London. On graduating in electrical engineering with first class honors, he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Signals), and between 1941 and 1946 he saw service in the Lushai Hills on the India-Burma border. On his return to England, he entered industry, and from 1947 to 1962 he occupied several posts, including positions at GEC Research Laboratories, the Electrical Research Association, John Brown & Co, and finally Constructors John Brown, where he became research manager. In 1955 he received the Ph.D. from London University. His work in post-war industry, combined with wartime experiences in the Lushai Hills, played a crucial role in shaping Howard’s personal and scientific philosophy.

As his experience developed, he grew increasingly convinced of the potential for analog and digital computation to improve the nature of work and the effectiveness of manufacturing processes. A wish to explore this potential led him in 1962 to join John Coales at Cambridge University. The years at Cambridge, combined with a period at MIT, allowed Howard to build the theoretical foundations upon which his research reputation would be based. In 1966 he was offered the chair of Control Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technolog y (UMIST), and in this capacity he founded the Interdisciplinary Control Systems Centre (CSC). With the facilities of a research center at his disposal, and with talented colleagues from various disciplines, the centre launched an ambitious program to develop frequency-domain control theories and computer-aided design methods for multivariable control problems. The ideas that emerged from this work, together with highly practical and effective design methods, exercised a crucial influence on the subsequent development of control theory and practice. In 1979, he stepped down from his position as head of the CSC to pursue his philosophical interests in the impact of automation on society, thus beginning a further long and fruitful cycle of research contributions. His final research work was to revisit quantum physics from a control theory viewpoint.

During a long and varied career, Howard received many awards and honors. These include an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford (1987), the IEE Premium, the Heaviside Premium, and the Control Achievement Award (all IEE), Control Systems Science and Engineering Award (IEEE), Oldenburger Medal (ASME), Moulton Medal (IChemE), Sir Harold Hartley Medal and Sir George Thompson Gold Medal (both Institute of Measurement and Control), and the Nordic Process Control Award. He was also a Fellow of the IEE, IChem, the Institute of Measurement and Control, University College London, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society.