Aims

The International Federation of Automatic Control, founded in September 1957, is a multinational federation of National Member Organizations (NMOs), each one representing the engineering and scientific societies concerned with automatic control in its own country.

The purpose of the Federation is to promote the science and technology of control in the broadest sense in all systems, whether, for example, engineering, physical, biological, social or economic, in both theory and application. IFAC is also concerned with the impact of control technology on society.

The primary objective of the Federation is to serve all those concerned with the theory and application of automatic control and systems engineering, wherever situated. To further this aim, it maintains working relationships with other organizations, national or international, especially with other non-governmental professional federations.

IFAC provides a framework for collaboration between those working in automatic control and systems engineering, irrespective of race, creed or colour, or of geographic location, and promotes free exchange of ideas and experts within its professional fields.

The Federation does not become involved in any kind of political activity, nor does it take a position in any such issue.

IFAC does not take part in any commercial activity with the explicit aim to acquire financial gain.

IFAC pursues its purpose by organizing technical meetings, by publications, and by any other means consistent with its constitution and which will enhance the interchange and circulation of information on automatic control activities.

International World Congresses are held every three years. Between congresses, IFAC sponsors many symposia, conferences and workshops covering particular aspects of automatic control.

Information on activities appears on the IFAC homepage and in the IFAC Newsletter which may be obtained free of charge (ON-LINE REGISTRATION FORM) from the IFAC Secretariat or can be downloaded from the web.

The official journals of IFAC are Automatica, Control Engineering Practice, Annual Reviews in Control, Journal of Process Control, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, and the Journal of Mechatronics, to which one may subscribe by writing to the publisher, Elsevier Science Ltd. There is also a number of IFAC Affiliated Journals.

Until recently, IFAC publications further included paper-based proceedings volumes of congresses, symposia, conferences and workshops. At the World Congress in Seoul, July 2008, IFAC PapersOnLine was launched, the website from which papers of IFAC events can be downloaded.

Professional Briefs, technical committee reports, a multilingual dictionary, as well as brochures of particular interest, such as guidelines for organizers of workshops, symposia, conferences and congresses (Organizers'Guide) are additional publications of IFAC

IFAC closely cooperates with many other international organizations, by mutually co-sponsoring technical meetings.