People in Control

NOTE: This is an overview of the entire article, which appeared in the October 2012 issue of the IEEE Control Systems Magazine.
Click here to read the entire article.

In this interview, Sagar mentions how he more-or-less happened to take a class in control theory, because of a scheduling conflict as an undergraduate. He discovered that he was attracted to the field because of its mathematical elegance. His distinguished career, while generally within the envelope of ‘control theory’ has been an adventure in applying that body of knowledge to a wide range of application areas. Most recently, his focus has been on computational biology and translational medicine (which brings him to the Life Sciences Initiative).

Mathukumalli (Sagar) Vidyasagar

Mathukumalli (Sagar) Vidyasagar

In the interview, he describes how he and his students at the University of Texas at Dallas are developing an algorithm to identify biomarkers which predict the effectiveness of various forms of cancer therapy.

Sagar expresses fascination with the prospect of applying aspects of control theory to the problem of cancer. He also sees promise in the control of robots by brain signals.

On the side, Sagar is learning ancient Greek, in order to read and appreciate the classical dramatists in their original language!

We recommend you read the article for insight into the mind and career of a fascinating bioengineer.