Preface: Special issue honoring the memory of late Prof Mihai Popescu

  • Alexandru Dumitrache

Abstract

Professor Mihai Popescu was born on the 28th of September 1946 in Slatina, Olt, Romania.
Professor Mihai Popescu, earned his Ph.D. Degree in Mathematics from the University of Bucharest (title of the thesis: "Contributions to the optimisation of spacecraft reentering Earth atmosphere ") .
His research was developed within the National Institute of Scientific and Technical Developments (the later Aviation Institute) until 1991 at the Department of Dynamical Systems. After 1991 his research continued within the Applied Mathematics Institute of the Romanian Academy, as a founding member (the later "Gheorge Mihoc - Caius Iacob" Mathematic Statistics and Applied Mathematics Institute). He activated as a Senior Researcher, as head of the Dynamical Systems Department and also as scientific director for a period of time.

His research interests were new mathematical approaches to solving complex problems of dynamical systems in variational calculus, optimal control, stability theory. He made significant contributions to optimality sufficient conditions, singular control, nonlinear (Volterra) nilpotent systems, using functional analysis in optimal control, critical stability cases, periodic solutions stability for small parameter nonlinear systems in the degenerate case, transient phenomena in optimal control, use of canonical transformations in optimal transfers, controllable systems, systems with zero energy at infinity.

Published
2013-08-25
Section
Articles