PEOPLE in CONTROL.

This article presents an interview with Ed Corbett, group leader for Control Systems Engineering, on the contributions of control technology to a range of U.S. government-sponsored research and development projects being conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. According to Corbett, Lincoln Laboratory is operated by MIT for the Department of Defense as a federally funded research and development center, which means that Lincoln Laboratory is a nonprofit organization with a character to perform research and development in technical areas that are in the national interest. The research program is reviewed and approved periodically by a duly appointed advisory council to ensure that the goal is being met. Historically, Lincoln Laboratory's origins are closely tied to the MIT Radiation Laboratory, which made significant contributions to the development of radar during the Second World War. Initially, the Laboratory was established to develop early warning systems to counter the threat of airborne nuclear attack. But over the years, additional areas of research have been added, including ballistic missile defense, secure communications, space surveillance, and biodefense.