control theory

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun (Math., Engineering) That branch of Mathematics and Engineering which deals with the design, identification and analysis of systems with a view towards controlling them, i. e., to make them perform specific tasks or make them behave in a desired way.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun An interdisciplinary branch of engineering and mathematics, dealing with the control of the behavior of dynamical systems.