Masayoshi Tomizuka received his B.S. and M.S. from Keio University in 1968 and 1970, respectively. He received his Ph. D. from MIT in 1974, after which he joined the ME Department at UC Berkeley. Here, he served as the Vice Chair of Instruction from Dec. 1989 to Dec. 1991, and as the Vice Chair of graduate studies from Jul. 1995 to Dec. 1996. He is currently the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley.
From 2009 to 2011, he was the Executive Associate Dean for the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley. He also served as Program Director of the Dynamic Systems and Control Program at the National Science Foundation from Sept. 2002 to Dec. 2004.
Tomizuka’s research covers control theory and its applications to various mechanical systems. A balance between theory and laboratory work is emphasized. The trend in mechanical system design is to replace mechanical complexity with electronics and computers (real time controllers) in order to gain high performance, reliability and flexibility. A number of control methodologies relevant to mechanical systems are under investigation in his research group: they include optimal control, preview control, adaptive control, and nonlinear robust control. Since these control methodologies are implemented on computers, the discrete time (digital) aspect is emphasized in the development of theory. Actual mechanical systems currently under study include direct drive robot arms, a machining center, x-y motion control tables, computer disk file systems and automotive vehicles.
Adaptive control, computer-aided manufacturing, control systems and theory, digital control, dynamic systems, manufacturing, and mechanical vibrations.
