This synthesis that comprises automation evolved in an unprecedented, cooperative effort on the part of government, industry and academia to build control systems for the aerospace projects of the 1960s and 1970s. Then industry rapidly adopted automation in petroleum refineries, chemical plants, paper mills, water treatment facilities and the like. Automation systems soon became an essential-and largely invisible-part of society's industrial infrastructure.

But with principles expressed in terms of the calculus or Fourier transforms and practices learned empirically in specialized environments, a coherent treatment of automation was never adequately incorporated into high school, technical school and undergraduate university curricula. The broad foundations necessary for continuity were not developed. And now, the people who developed the conceptual synthesis, as well as those who kept the systems operational, are retiring or have already done so."  Keith Campbell points out that "this is an article that shows that mechatronics and automation are closely related careers".  To see the entire article, click here.