Our history
LIDS was founded in 1940 under its original name, "Servomechanism Lab," and is the longest continuously-running lab at MIT. This timeline serves as a snapshot of contributions and breakthroughs over the course of the lab's impressive history.
1940's
Servomechanisms Lab established at MIT in 1940
Gordon Brown, Founding Director (1940-1952)
Leadership in theory and education in servomechanisms
Classic textbook Principles of Servomechanisms by Brown and Campbell
WWII military applications
Lab plays leadership role in fire control system development. Lab researchers design control and power systems for the U.S. Army’s 37mm gun mount and 40mm gun.
The Brookhaven Project
Lab researchers design power drives, instrumentation, and controls for reactor rods in the first peacetime nuclear reactors.
The Aircraft Stability and Control Analyzer (Whirlwind) Project
A powerful computer capable of simulating aircraft dynamics, WHIRLWIND I contributes to the development of random access, magnetic core memory.
Numerically controlled machines
Pioneering work on using digital computers as elements in control systems.
Gordon Brown, Founding Director (1940-1952)
Leadership in theory and education in servomechanisms
Classic textbook Principles of Servomechanisms by Brown and Campbell
WWII military applications
Lab plays leadership role in fire control system development. Lab researchers design control and power systems for the U.S. Army’s 37mm gun mount and 40mm gun.
The Brookhaven Project
Lab researchers design power drives, instrumentation, and controls for reactor rods in the first peacetime nuclear reactors.
The Aircraft Stability and Control Analyzer (Whirlwind) Project
A powerful computer capable of simulating aircraft dynamics, WHIRLWIND I contributes to the development of random access, magnetic core memory.
Numerically controlled machines
Pioneering work on using digital computers as elements in control systems.
Jay Wright Forrester and Stephen H. Dodd Jr. examine a memory storage tube. Courtesy of the MIT Museum.
Gordon Brown (left) and Hugh Boyd at the Lincoln Lab or Raytheon. Courtesy of the MIT Museum.
1950's
Directors
Gordon Brown (1940-1952), William Pease (1952-1953), J. Francis Reintjes (1953-1973)
Leadership in theory and education in feedback control
Several influential textbooks, including Analytical Design of Linear Feedback Controls by Newton, Gould, and Kaiser.
APT system and the beginnings of CAD
Lab develops automatic programming to facilitate continuous path control of machine tools.
Project Porcupine
Joint project with MIT Lincoln Laboratory focuses on developing pulse-doppler radar for air defense.
Gordon Brown (1940-1952), William Pease (1952-1953), J. Francis Reintjes (1953-1973)
Leadership in theory and education in feedback control
Several influential textbooks, including Analytical Design of Linear Feedback Controls by Newton, Gould, and Kaiser.
APT system and the beginnings of CAD
Lab develops automatic programming to facilitate continuous path control of machine tools.
Project Porcupine
Joint project with MIT Lincoln Laboratory focuses on developing pulse-doppler radar for air defense.
In 1950, Jay Forrester and Robert Everett watched as Stephen Dodd and Ramona D. Ferenz operated Whirlwind, MIT’s first digital computer. Courtesy of the MIT Museum.
Whirlwind Core Memory Unit. Courtesy MIT Museum.
1960's
Lab’s name changed to Electronic Systems Laboratory in 1959 Director
Francis Reintjes (1953-1973)
Leadership in theory and education in modern control
ESL faculty plays leadership role in state space methods, optimal and stochastic control, estimation. Several influential textbooks, including Optimal Control by Athans and Falb, and Finite Dimensional Linear Systems by Roger Brockett.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Project
APT broadens to a system for the computer as a central element throughout the manufacturing process. Automatic Engineering Design programming language developed.
Project INTREX
Lab introduces the first major pioneering program in digital information transfer and retrieval.
Francis Reintjes (1953-1973)
Leadership in theory and education in modern control
ESL faculty plays leadership role in state space methods, optimal and stochastic control, estimation. Several influential textbooks, including Optimal Control by Athans and Falb, and Finite Dimensional Linear Systems by Roger Brockett.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Project
APT broadens to a system for the computer as a central element throughout the manufacturing process. Automatic Engineering Design programming language developed.
Project INTREX
Lab introduces the first major pioneering program in digital information transfer and retrieval.
Front to back: Michael Athans and Roger Brockett.
LIDS Director John Francis Reintjes Flight testing Radar Project. Circa 1960. Courtesy MIT Museum.
1970's
Directors
J. Francis Reintjes (1953-1973), Michael Athans (1974-1981)
Leadership in theory and education in advanced control methods
ESL faculty coninues to play leadership roles in linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG control), estimation and detection, optimization and dynamic programming, and the emerging topics of large-scale systems and decentralized control. Several influential texts including The Analysis of Feedback Systems by Jan Willems.
Avionics applications
Lab develops systems for cockpit air traffic situation displays, adaptive aircraft control, and automatic avionic failure detection.
Lab’s name changed to Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) in 1978
Reflecting a broadened intellectual agenda to include large-scale and networked systems and applications in manufacturing, transportation, econometrics, and data communication networks.
J. Francis Reintjes (1953-1973), Michael Athans (1974-1981)
Leadership in theory and education in advanced control methods
ESL faculty coninues to play leadership roles in linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG control), estimation and detection, optimization and dynamic programming, and the emerging topics of large-scale systems and decentralized control. Several influential texts including The Analysis of Feedback Systems by Jan Willems.
Avionics applications
Lab develops systems for cockpit air traffic situation displays, adaptive aircraft control, and automatic avionic failure detection.
Lab’s name changed to Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) in 1978
Reflecting a broadened intellectual agenda to include large-scale and networked systems and applications in manufacturing, transportation, econometrics, and data communication networks.
Lab name changes to Laboratory for Information and Decision Stystems in 1978. Photo credit: Calvin Campbell, 1979.
Portrait photograph of Michael Athans standing behind an office desk. Photo credit: Calvin Campbell. Circa 1979.
1980's
Directors
Michael Athans (1974-1981), Sanjoy Mitter (1981-1986), Co-Directors Sanjoy Mitter and Robert Gallager (1986-1999)
Leadership in theory and education
Significant advances in communication networks, optimization, nonlinear estimation, statistical signal and image processing. Numerous influential texts including Data Networks by Bertsekas and Gallager, and Signals and Systems by Oppenheim and Willsky.
The Center for Intelligent Control Systems founded
Funded by the U.S. Army, the joint endeavor with Brown and Harvard universitiesfocuses on fundamental advances in the information and decision sciences broadly defined.
Robust control and control system design
LIDS pioneers theoretical work sparking the emerging field of robust control and advances in adaptive control. Significant advances in numerical algorithms for control design and large-scale optimization.
Applications
The range of applications within LIDS continues to broaden to include distributed control and incident detection in traffic systems and military command and control systems.
Michael Athans (1974-1981), Sanjoy Mitter (1981-1986), Co-Directors Sanjoy Mitter and Robert Gallager (1986-1999)
Leadership in theory and education
Significant advances in communication networks, optimization, nonlinear estimation, statistical signal and image processing. Numerous influential texts including Data Networks by Bertsekas and Gallager, and Signals and Systems by Oppenheim and Willsky.
The Center for Intelligent Control Systems founded
Funded by the U.S. Army, the joint endeavor with Brown and Harvard universitiesfocuses on fundamental advances in the information and decision sciences broadly defined.
Robust control and control system design
LIDS pioneers theoretical work sparking the emerging field of robust control and advances in adaptive control. Significant advances in numerical algorithms for control design and large-scale optimization.
Applications
The range of applications within LIDS continues to broaden to include distributed control and incident detection in traffic systems and military command and control systems.
L-R: Michael Athans and Sanjoy Mitter.
Cover image: Signals and Systems by Oppenheim and Willsky.
1990's
Directors
Co-Directors Sanjoy Mitter and Robert Gallager (1986-1999), Vincent Chan (1999-2007)
Leadership in theory and education
Continued leadership in new courses at MIT – in robust control, identification, wireless networks, and optimization. Numerous texts including Control of Uncertain Systems: A Linear Programming Approach by Dahleh and Diaz-Bobillo, Representation and Control of Infinite Dimensional Systems by Bensoussan, Da Prato, Delfour, and Mitter, and Neurodynamic Programming by Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis.
Neuro-dynamic programming
LIDS develops this widely used methodology for large-scale dynamic optimization.
Advances and applications
LIDS contributes to significant advances in coding and information theory, large-scale statistical inference, and estimation. Applications expand to include remote sensing data assimilation, automotive control, and autonomously controlled air vehicles.
Co-Directors Sanjoy Mitter and Robert Gallager (1986-1999), Vincent Chan (1999-2007)
Leadership in theory and education
Continued leadership in new courses at MIT – in robust control, identification, wireless networks, and optimization. Numerous texts including Control of Uncertain Systems: A Linear Programming Approach by Dahleh and Diaz-Bobillo, Representation and Control of Infinite Dimensional Systems by Bensoussan, Da Prato, Delfour, and Mitter, and Neurodynamic Programming by Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis.
Neuro-dynamic programming
LIDS develops this widely used methodology for large-scale dynamic optimization.
Advances and applications
LIDS contributes to significant advances in coding and information theory, large-scale statistical inference, and estimation. Applications expand to include remote sensing data assimilation, automotive control, and autonomously controlled air vehicles.
Robert Gallager in conversation.
A portrait of former LIDS Director Sanjoy Mitter.
2000s to present
Directors
Vincent Chan (1999-2007), Director/Co-Director Thomas Magnanti/Alan Willsky (2007-2009), Alan Willsky (2009-2014), Acting Director Munther Dahleh (2010-2011), Interim Director Munther Dahleh (2014), Asu Ozdaglar (2014-2016), Interim Director Munther Dahleh (2017), John Tsitsiklis (2017-2020), Interim Director Eytan Modiano (2021), Sertac Karaman (2021-present)
Leadership in theory and education
New courses on inference and learning, network coding, and networks. Continuation of the development of leading texts, including Introduction to Probability by Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis.
Communications
LIDS contributes to developments in information theory, coding theory, optical networks, space networks, wideband communication systems, network resource allocation and control, and the Internet of Things.
Data science and machine learning
With the addition of several new faculty members LIDS establishes a strong presence in these areas, with activities ranging from fundamental research in high-dimensional statistics to social data processing, among others.
Autonomy
LIDS develops and implements state of the art methods involving perception, planning, and control for autonomous vehicles, both terrestrial and aerial.
Expanding research
LIDS focus expands to include design and analysis of embedded control systems, natural language processing, social network analysis, biological data processing, networked dynamical systems, and network games.
Organizational evolution
LIDS becomes a core research arm of the newly founded MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), in 2015.
LIDS joins the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing in 2020.
Vincent Chan (1999-2007), Director/Co-Director Thomas Magnanti/Alan Willsky (2007-2009), Alan Willsky (2009-2014), Acting Director Munther Dahleh (2010-2011), Interim Director Munther Dahleh (2014), Asu Ozdaglar (2014-2016), Interim Director Munther Dahleh (2017), John Tsitsiklis (2017-2020), Interim Director Eytan Modiano (2021), Sertac Karaman (2021-present)
Leadership in theory and education
New courses on inference and learning, network coding, and networks. Continuation of the development of leading texts, including Introduction to Probability by Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis.
Communications
LIDS contributes to developments in information theory, coding theory, optical networks, space networks, wideband communication systems, network resource allocation and control, and the Internet of Things.
Data science and machine learning
With the addition of several new faculty members LIDS establishes a strong presence in these areas, with activities ranging from fundamental research in high-dimensional statistics to social data processing, among others.
Autonomy
LIDS develops and implements state of the art methods involving perception, planning, and control for autonomous vehicles, both terrestrial and aerial.
Expanding research
LIDS focus expands to include design and analysis of embedded control systems, natural language processing, social network analysis, biological data processing, networked dynamical systems, and network games.
Organizational evolution
LIDS becomes a core research arm of the newly founded MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), in 2015.
LIDS joins the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing in 2020.
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A view of MIT Building 32, where LIDS Headquarters is located.
In the fall of 2023, LIDS moved into MIT Building 45, the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.
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Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room 32-D60
877 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room 32-D60
877 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
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