ABSTRACT
Many real problems are considered to be “large scale” by nature and not by choice. Some important attributes of large-scale systems are
1. They often represent complex, real-life systems,
2. Their structures follow hierarchical (multilevel) order,
3. Their dynamics involve time-delays and are subject to uncertainties,
4. Decentralized information structures are the rule and not the exception.
These attributes depict systems dealing with societal, business, and management organizations, the economy, the environment, data networks, electric power, transportation, information systems, aerospace (including space structures), water resources, and, last but not least, energy. Such systems that are eventually used in support of human life are complex in nature. As a result of these important properties and potential applications, several researchers have paid a great deal of attention to various facets of large-scale systems such as modeling, model reduction, control, stability, controllability, observability, optimization, and feedback stabilization. These concepts have been applied to various problems and have helped with the development of different notions of systems analysis, design, control, and optimization.
