The preparation of this internet version of the monograph G. Hulkó et al.: Modeling, Control and Design of Distributed Parameter Systems with Demonstrations in MATLAB was sponsored by Slovak Scientific Grant Agency – VEGA – to projects No. 1/9278/02 „Control of Dynamical Systems Given by Numerical Structures on Complex Definition Domains with Demonstrtions on Internet“
Main results presented have been achieved by the first author during his more than 25 years of scientific and research work in the field of distributed parameter systems.
Prof. Hulkó is deeply indebted to many people from Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovak Republik and from Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava for their help and encouragement to his scientific work. In particular to Dr. Ing. ¼. Šutek, former head of Department of Identification at the Institute of Technical Cybernetics of Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, nowadays the president of the Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing and to Prof. J. Skákala the founder and long-term head of the Department of Automation and Measurement of Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Slovak University of Technology. Further to his colleagues Assoc. Prof. A. Kachaòák, Assoc. Prof. B. Roha¾-I¾kiv and Assoc. Prof. ¼. Sapák (nowadays the director of the firm COMERON ) for their help and suggestions to improvement.
The authors would like to thank Prof. V. Kuèera, vice-president of IFAC, head of the Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague and DSc. Ing. M. Kárný, the head of the Department of Adaptive Systems of the above institute for the lease of the software package to solve adaptive control problems in the time domain, as well as for their support of long-term co-operation with Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in the frame of State Programme of Basic Research. Further thanks go to Ph.D. student Ing. A. Heugerová-Vítková for speedy and efficient typing, to MUDr. B. Hulkóová-Garayová for the design of Figures 2.8, 2.9 and also to former students (nowadays Ph.D. students) P. Kuka and M. Lavrinc for their help in presentation of the boundary value problems (part 9.1.5. Further mathematical models) and for final technical arrangement of the manuscript.
The authors would like to thank MSc. P. Bachratý from Faculty of electrical engineering and informatics STU and MSc. Š. Cibiri, PhD. student on Faculty of mechanical engineering STU for preparation of this internet version of the monograph.
Finally, the authors would like to thank the reviewers, Prof. B. Frankoviè, Institute of Theory of Control and Robotics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Assoc. Prof. A. Kachaòák, Department of Automation and Measurement, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Slovak University of Technology and Assoc. Prof. A. Mészáros, Department of Automation, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Slovak University of Technology for their invaluable comments and constructive criticism.