Malcolm Smith
University of Cambridge
Seminar Information
The talk discusses the background and current research on the inerter device and concept. Following the ban on active suspension in Formula One and associated control theory research on such systems, the question to optimise vehicle performance over the largest class of passive suspensions led to the proposal of a new mechanical device, the inerter, to allow this class to be physically realised. News of McLaren's use of the device under the codename "J-damper" came to public attention during the 2007 Formula Espionage controversy. Subsequently the inerter became a standard component in F1 suspensions and continues to be researched and used in other application areas: vibration mounts, building suspensions, railway vehicle suspensions, passive walking for bipedal robots, vibration in cables, rotating machines, motorcycle steering oscillations, and shimmy in aircraft landing gear. More broadly than the subject of the inerter itself, the talk will give examples of how issues in vehicle dynamics have led to new approaches and research directions in control and estimation.
Malcolm C. Smith received degrees in mathematics and control engineering from Cambridge University, England. He was subsequently a Research Fellow at the German Aerospace Centre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, a Visiting Assistant Professor and Research Fellow with the Department of Electrical Engineering at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus. In 1990, he joined the Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, where he is currently a Professor and Head of the Control Group. He is a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. His research interests are in the areas of robust control, nonlinear systems, electrical and mechanical networks, and automotive applications. Dr. Smith received the 1992 and 1999 George Axelby Best Paper Awards, in the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, both times for joint work with T.T. Georgiou. He is a winner of the 2020 IEEE Control Systems Technology Award (with W. Hoult and P. Brezas) and the 2025 IEEE Control Systems Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.