Control engineering is the engineering discipline that focuses on the mathematical modelling systems of a diverse nature, analysing their dynamic behaviour, and using control theory to make a controller that will cause the systems to behave in a desired manner.

Control engineering is closely related to electrical engineering, as electronic circuits can often be easily described using control theory techniques. At many universities, control engineering courses are primarily taught by electrical engineering faculty.

The field of control within chemical engineering is often known as process control. It deals primarily with the control of variables in a chemical process in a plant. It is taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum of any chemical engineering program. It employs many of the principles in control engineering, and is a well-established field in its own right.

Other engineering disciplines also overlap with control engineering, as it can be applied to any system for which a suitable model can be derived.

See also

• Process control
• Robotic unicycle
• H infinity
• Optimal control
• Servomechanism
• Non-linear control
• Adaptive control
• Intelligent control
• State space (controls)
• Model predictive control