Control theory may also be helpful - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimal_control http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimal_control lists some books, a few of them a

Control theory may also be helpful - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimal_control http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimal_control lists some books, a few of them available online. Many moons ago, I went to a presentation with a classmate whose advisor taught control theory. It was a seminar about neural networks, the new CS hotness back then. Her jaw dropped when she saw the equations the CS guy was presenting - it was the simplest control stuff she knew. On the other hand, another former classmate with the same engineering background (control theory, etc.), has been doing well at CS in machine learning ....