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Subfield · Engineering

Control and Systems Engineering research

Control and Systems Engineering is a subfield of Engineering. Science Explorer counts 1.3M research works in it since 1950. 13.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: engineering discipline that applies control theory to design systems with desired behaviors, focusing on the development and implementation of control systems in machinery, processes, and automation.

Research works
1.3M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
186k
per year above
Top-10% rate
13.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
44
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+5%
the tick is no change

What is Control and Systems Engineering research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Machine Learning, Power Electronics, Stability Analysis, Nonlinear Systems, Distributed Power Generation, Microgrid Control. Gaining share since 2009–13: False Data Injection Attacks, Security, Distributed Power Generation, Microgrid Control, Cyber-Physical Systems. Losing share: Internet of Things, Fuzzy Control, Neural Network, Virtual Reality.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Machine Learning40k▲ 2.3×4 topics
  2. Power Electronics33k▲ 2.6×2 topics
  3. Stability Analysis32k▲ 1.25×4 topics
  4. Nonlinear Systems31k▲ 1.30×4 topics
  5. Distributed Power Generation27k▲ 3.8×1 topic
  6. Microgrid Control27k▲ 3.8×1 topic
  7. Vibration Analysis27k▲ 1.60×3 topics
  8. Feedback Control26k▲ 1.55×5 topics
  9. Neural Networks24k▼ 0.72×4 topics
  10. Adaptive Control23k▲ 1.57×5 topics
  11. Optimization23k▼ 0.65×4 topics
  12. Fault Detection23k▲ 1.66×2 topics
  13. Deep Learning21k▲ 2.2×4 topics
  14. Neural Network19k▼ 0.34×3 topics
  15. Distributed Control18k▲ 1.21×2 topics
  16. Robust Control18k▲ 1.21×2 topics
  17. Fault Diagnosis18k▲ 1.67×3 topics
  18. Cyber-Physical Systems18k▲ 3.7×2 topics
  19. Data-Driven Techniques17k▲ 1.59×1 topic
  20. Process Monitoring17k▲ 1.59×1 topic
  21. Sliding Mode Control17k▲ 1.69×2 topics
  22. Smart Grid16k▲ 2.0×2 topics
  23. Energy Efficiency15k▲ 1.65×3 topics
  24. Wavelet Transform15k▲ 2.6×2 topics
  25. Fuzzy Control14k▼ 0.26×3 topics
  26. Control Systems13k▲ 1.24×2 topics
  27. Real-time Optimization13k▲ 1.27×2 topics
  28. Disturbance Observer12k▲ 1.76×1 topic
  29. Finite-Time Stability12k▲ 1.76×1 topic
  30. Genetic Algorithm12k▼ 0.40×4 topics
  31. Industrial Automation12k▲ 2.6×2 topics
  32. Model Predictive Control11k▲ 1.21×1 topic
  33. Nonlinear MPC11k▲ 1.21×1 topic
  34. Data-Driven Control11k◆ 0.99×2 topics
  35. Internet of Things11k▼ 0.18×4 topics
  36. Dynamic Modeling10k▲ 1.43×2 topics
  37. Virtual Reality10k▼ 0.38×3 topics
  38. False Data Injection Attacks10k▲ 3.9×1 topic
  39. Security10k▲ 3.9×1 topic
  40. Condition Monitoring9,778▲ 3.1×1 topic

Which countries lead Control and Systems Engineering research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Control and Systems Engineering. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (94k and 19k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 13.7% top 10% · 94k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 12.3% top 10% · 19k works
  3. 3 India · #10 all time 9.9% top 10% · 17k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #3 all time 16.9% top 10% · 4.8k works
  5. 5 Canada · #4 all time 16.2% top 10% · 3.4k works
  6. 6 Germany · #6 all time 10.5% top 10% · 6.4k works
  7. 7 Australia · #8 all time 21.8% top 10% · 2k works
  8. 8 Italy · #7 all time 14.3% top 10% · 4.4k works
  9. 9 Saudi Arabia · #31 all time 23.4% top 10% · 1.5k works
  10. 10 South Korea · #11 all time 14.6% top 10% · 4k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 71 countries ranked in Control and Systems Engineering. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Control and Systems Engineering

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 94k works
  2. 2 United States 19k works
  3. 3 India 17k works
  4. 4 Germany 6.4k works
  5. 5 Russia 6.4k works
  6. 6 Japan 5.9k works
  7. 7 Indonesia 4.9k works
  8. 8 United Kingdom 4.8k works
  9. 9 France 4.6k works
  10. 10 Italy 4.4k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 56.2%United States: 11.1%India: 10.4%Germany: 3.8%6 others listed: 18.5%56%largest
China94k · 56.2%United States19k · 11.1%India17k · 10.4%Germany6,447 · 3.8%6 others listed31k · 18.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Control and Systems Engineering research?

Beihang University (China) ranks first in Control and Systems Engineering on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Harbin Institute of Technology and Northwestern Polytechnical University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beihang University China · Beijing · #5 all time 17.9% top 10% · 1.4k works
  2. 2 Harbin Institute of Technology China · Harbin · #1 all time 19.5% top 10% · 2k works
  3. 3 Northwestern Polytechnical University China · Xi'an · #15 all time 20.3% top 10% · 1.2k works
  4. 4 Northeastern University China · Shenyang · #8 all time 23.7% top 10% · 1.3k works
  5. 5 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #6 all time 20.5% top 10% · 1.4k works
  6. 6 Huazhong University of Science and Technology China · Wuhan · #17 all time 19.7% top 10% · 1.1k works
  7. 7 Chongqing University China · Chongqing · #35 all time 23.0% top 10% · 945 works
  8. 8 Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an · #18 all time 18.7% top 10% · 1.2k works
  9. 9 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #22 all time 18.0% top 10% · 1.4k works
  10. 10 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #34 all time 16.2% top 10% · 1.1k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 793 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Control and Systems Engineering.

Top 100 Control and Systems Engineering institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 2k works
  2. 2 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 1.4k works
  3. 3 Beihang UniversityChina 1.4k works
  4. 4 Tsinghua UniversityChina 1.4k works
  5. 5 Southeast UniversityChina 1.3k works
  6. 6 Nanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsChina 1.3k works
  7. 7 Northeastern UniversityChina 1.3k works
  8. 8 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 1.2k works
  9. 9 Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityChina 1.2k works
  10. 10 Beijing Institute of TechnologyChina 1.1k works

Who are the leading researchers in Control and Systems Engineering?

Among the most productive authors in Control and Systems Engineering, Fang Zheng Peng, Jerry M. Mendel and Marimuthu Palaniswami rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Fang Zheng Peng United States · #190 worldwide 3.7k citations · 136 works
  2. 2 Jerry M. Mendel United States · #306 worldwide 4k citations · 162 works
  3. 3 Marimuthu Palaniswami Australia · #339 worldwide 3.8k citations · 179 works
  4. 4 Hirofumi Akagi Japan · #505 worldwide 3.3k citations · 149 works
  5. 5 Karl Johan Åström Sweden · #977 worldwide 2k citations · 159 works
  6. 6 José Rodríguez Chile · #1,079 worldwide 6.8k citations · 329 works
  7. 7 Dirk Helbing Switzerland · #1,135 worldwide 3k citations · 163 works
  8. 8 Dieter Fox United States · #1,152 worldwide 3.2k citations · 153 works
  9. 9 John C. Doyle United States · #1,162 worldwide 3.3k citations · 93 works
  10. 10 W.M. Wonham Canada · #1,218 worldwide 2.4k citations · 96 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,869 highest-output authors in Control and Systems Engineering. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Control and Systems Engineering researchers

Where is Control and Systems Engineering research done?

The largest centres of Control and Systems Engineering research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Nanjing (China) and Xi'an (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Blaichach, Zhuzhou and Shenyang.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 16k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 6.9k works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 6k works
  4. 4 Xi'an China 5.2k works
  5. 5 Wuhan China 4.2k works
  6. 6 Guangzhou China 3.6k works
  7. 7 Harbin China 3.5k works
  8. 8 Hangzhou China 2.9k works
  9. 9 Chengdu China 2.8k works
  10. 10 Tianjin China 2.6k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BlaichachDE · 29.8 works27×
  2. Zhuzhou28.6 works22×
  3. Shenyang133.2 works15×
  4. TorreónMX · 28.5 works14×
  5. BaishanCN · 101.1 works13×
  6. LiaoyangCN · 29.2 works13×
  7. Harbin33.3 works12×
  8. MukilteoUS · 30.3 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Control and Systems Engineering than the world average.

See Control and Systems Engineering on the map

Control and Systems Engineering research by country

The best places for Control and Systems Engineering research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Control and Systems Engineering?

Among universities, judged by research, Bohai University, Northeastern University and Liaoning University of Technology score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 23.99%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Bohai University: 218, 28.5%Northeastern University: 1,258, 23.7%Liaoning University of Technology: 233, 25.6%Harbin Institute of Technology: 1,957, 19.5%Nanyang Technological University: 440, 29.0%Southern University of Science and Technology: 235, 26.7%Yanshan University: 648, 18.8%Khalifa University of Science and Technology: 165, 22.6%Hong Kong Polytechnic University: 373, 29.0%Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics: 1,315, 16.5%Bohai UniversityLiaoning University …Northeastern Univers…Harbin Institute of …
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Bohai UniversityChina 59.028.5%9.6×218 -2.8%
2 Northeastern UniversityChina 58.623.7%6.4×1,258 -8.8%
3 Liaoning University of TechnologyChina 54.725.6%14.4×233 -49.0%
4 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 54.519.5%5.3×1,957 -18.1%
5 Nanyang Technological UniversitySingapore 54.429.0%2.5×440 +26.3%
6 Southern University of Science and TechnologyChina 53.726.7%2.0×235 +871.0%
7 Yanshan UniversityChina 52.918.8%8.6×648 -40.8%
8 Khalifa University of Science and TechnologyUnited Arab Emirates 52.822.6%3.1×165 +301.0%
9 Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong 51.829.0%1.9×373 +7.8%
10 Nanjing University of Aeronautics and AstronauticsChina 51.516.5%6.6×1,315 -26.1%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Control and Systems Engineering research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 5% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Microgrid Control and Optimization, Smart Grid Security and Resilience and Advanced Data Processing Techniques.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Microgrid Control and Optimization+434%
  2. Smart Grid Security and Resilience+412%
  3. Advanced Data Processing Techniques+149%
  4. Machine Fault Diagnosis Techniques+147%
  5. Traffic control and management+136%
  6. Robot Manipulation and Learning+76%
  7. Advanced Algorithms and Applications-77%
  8. Advanced Sensor and Control Systems-80%
  9. Simulation and Modeling Applications-82%
  10. Industrial Technology and Control Systems-84%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Control and Systems Engineering include?

Fault Detection and Cont…85kFault Detection and Control Systems: 85k fractional worksMicrogrid Control and Op…74kMicrogrid Control and Optimization: 74k fractional worksAdvanced Control Systems Optimization: 70k fractional worksAdvanced Algorithms and Applications: 70k fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Control Systems: 68k fractional worksIndustrial Technology and Control Systems: 67k fractional worksSimulation and Modeling Applications: 60k fractional worksVibration and Dynamic An…55kVibration and Dynamic Analysis: 55k fractional worksAdaptive Control of Nonlinear Systems: 51k fractional worksControl Systems and Identification: 44k fractional worksStability and Control of Uncertain Systems: 37k fractional worksMagnetic Bearings and Levitation Dynamics: 34k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.