Increased roles of linear algebra in control education

In the past, control theory developed along different lines that required different mathematical tools. Time-varying systems required one set of tools, time-invariant another. Single-input, single-output problems lend themselves easily to one approach, but this approach is awkward for multivariable systems, etc. The purpose of this article is to point to the desirability of a unified approach to elementary control education using only tools of linear algebra as the enabling unifier. The following is a description and motivation for the proposed new control course (approach). There is only one main theorem from linear algebra, and at least 17 different control problems all reduce to solving a single linear algebra problem