Born: May 19, 1930 Budapest, Hungary

He received the bachelor's degree (S.B.) and the master's degree (S.M.) in electrical engineering, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953 and 1954 respectively. He received the doctorate degree (D. Sci.) from Columbia University in 1957. His major positions include that of Research Mathematician at R.I.A.S. (Research Institute for Advanced Study) in Baltimore, between 1958-1964, Professor at Stanford University between 1964-1971, and from 1971 to 1992 Graduate Research Professor, and Director, at the Center for Mathematical System Theory, University of Florida, Gainesville. Moreover, since 1973 he has also held the chair for Mathematical System Theory at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zurich. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the IEEE Medal of Honor (1974), the IEEE Centennial Medal (1984), the Kyoto Prize in High Technology from the Inamori foundation, Japan (1985), the Steele Prize of the American Mathematical Society (1987), and the Bellman Prize (1997). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the National Academy of Engineering (USA), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (USA). He is a foreign member of the Hungarian, French, and Russian Academies of Science, and has received many honorary doctorates. He is married to Constantina nee Stavrou, and they have two children, Andrew and Elisabeth.