IFAC Award for Adaptive and Learning Systems

The '''Adaptive and Learning Systems Award''' is a triennial prize awarded by the Technical Committee 1.2 Adaptive and Learning Systems of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). It is the highest recognition given by the committee for pioneering and outstanding achievements in adaptive control and learning systems.

The award is presented to an individual once in their career, with no age restrictions, in recognition of significant contributions that may include theoretical concepts, methods and algorithms, technological innovations, or influential textbooks. Among nominees with comparable technical merit, priority is given to candidates who have served IFAC in some capacity.

Recipients of the award are selected based on the following criteria:

• Quality and impact of publications
• Engineering and industrial leadership
• Service to IFAC and international recognition

Past Recipients 

2025 Winner

Professor Petros Ioannou
For pioneering developments of robust adaptive control and its applications.

2023 Winner

Professor Miroslav Krstic 
For contributions to the theory and application of adaptive control in nonlinear, PDE, and delay systems; and, the theory and application of extremum-seeking methods.

2019 Winner

Professor Han-Fu Chen 
For outstanding technical contributions to adaptive control, identification, and stochastic approximation, and for remarkable service to IFAC.