I enjoy podcasts when I exercise or have a long drive. Yesterday I spent 8 hours on the road to El Paso and passed the time with podcasts. Today I am headed to the Carson National Forest for my annual volunteer project on the Continental Divide Trail to escape Texas heat at 10k feet elevation.
Among the podcasts I am listening to today is a recent discovery from IEEE Control Systems magazine. I found that there is now a podcast named "inControl". The magazine is math intensive, and the podcast covers similar material, but it is rather difficult to explain matrices, formulas, and mathematical notation verbally. The podcasters are aware of this and can explain topics in a way that I can follow. I am certain if you are driving a car listening to inControl with passengers that aren't control engineers, they will not follow.
As in every profession we have our own language. What is important is the ability to remain grounded in the fundamentals of our discipline. Control engineers often get neck deep in ladder logic, data communications, process graphics, and other duties of process control. There is fundamental math supporting the control loops and applications, and a failure to appreciate that math can lead to failed projects and other disasters.
To be clear, failure to understand all the math in control theory is not a requirement of our profession. There are articles in Control Systems magazine that require effort to work through. A good control engineer understands their limitations and seeks further clarity when required before committing to a solution. You do not want to rely on a control engineer that ignores the hard part, with the assumption that more software can cover up bad math.
If you are a control engineer that likes to pass the time by maintaining your proficiency, I suggest putting "inControl" in your podcast list.
