John Milsum
Encyclopedia
John H. Milsum was a Canadian
control engineer who was Professor and first Director at the Biomedical Engineering Department of the McGill University
in Montreal, and a Professor at the University of British Columbia
. Milsum is known for his book "Biological Control Systems Analysis" from 1966, which is a classic in the field and has been translated into many languages.
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
He started working at the National Research Council in Ottawa
from 1950 to 1961. In 1961 he came to McGill as the first Abitibi professor of control engineering
in the Department of Electrical Engineering
. In 1972 Milsum moved to the University of British Columbia
(UBC) to become the Imperial Oil professor of General Systems
and a professor in the Department of Health Care
and Epidemiology
. He was instrumental in the creation of UBC's Institute of Health Promotion Research in 1990.
He was president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences
in 1967-68. And he was a member of the National Research Council in Ottawa.
Milsum died peacefully at home in 2008 November, at age 83.
Articles:
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
control engineer who was Professor and first Director at the Biomedical Engineering Department of the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal, and a Professor at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
. Milsum is known for his book "Biological Control Systems Analysis" from 1966, which is a classic in the field and has been translated into many languages.
Biography
Milsum was born in England. He received his Ph.D. in 1957 in control engineeringControl engineering
Control engineering or Control systems engineering is the engineering discipline that applies control theory to design systems with predictable behaviors...
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
He started working at the National Research Council in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
from 1950 to 1961. In 1961 he came to McGill as the first Abitibi professor of control engineering
Control engineering
Control engineering or Control systems engineering is the engineering discipline that applies control theory to design systems with predictable behaviors...
in the Department of Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
. In 1972 Milsum moved to the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
(UBC) to become the Imperial Oil professor of General Systems
General Systems
General Systems: Yearbook of the Society for General Systems Research, known as General Systems, is the first annual journal in the field of systems science initiated in 1956, and initially edited by Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Anatol Rapoport....
and a professor in the Department of Health Care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
and Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
. He was instrumental in the creation of UBC's Institute of Health Promotion Research in 1990.
He was president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences
International Society for the Systems Sciences
The International Society for the Systems Sciences is a world-wide organization for systems sciences.- Overview :The initial purpose of the society was "to encourage the development of theoretical systems which are applicable to more than one of the traditional departments of knowledge."The idea...
in 1967-68. And he was a member of the National Research Council in Ottawa.
Milsum died peacefully at home in 2008 November, at age 83.
Publications
- 1955. Preliminary investigation of transient cooling of aircraft electronic equipment using heat storage material. with William G. Nance.
- 1957. Problems in optimizing of stochastically-disturbed, saturating regulators, employing a binary error criterion. Thesis Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
- 1966. Biological Control Systems Analysis. McGraw Hill ISBN: ISBN 978-0070423985
- 1968. Positive Feedback. (editor) Pergamon Press Ltd.
- 1984. Health, stress, and illness : a systems approach. New York : Praeger.
Articles:
- 1972, "The Hierarchical Basis for Living Systems," in George J. Klir (ed.), Trends in General Systems Theory. New York. 1972.
- 1973, "On Optimization of Health Care Systems". in: Optimization Techniques 1973: 335-346
- 1973, "Hospital admission systems: their evaluation and management". with E. Turban and I. Vertinsky in: Management Science.
- 1985, "A model of the eustress system for health/illness". in: Behavioral Science. Vol 30, Issue 4, Pages 179 - 186.