Richard Pates
Researcher interested in control theory, electrical power systems and mathematics.

Research Blog

An Alternative Look at Peg Solitaire (Part I)

Peg solitaire is as simple as it is infuriating. Not least because when playing the infamous French variant, the game is impossible! But hidden just below the surface are some connections with linear programming, Diophantine equations, and the mysteriously named Fredholm alternative…

An (Epic) Introduction to Proof by Contraposition

The long nights of Swedish winter tend to send one a little insane. Hence the arrival of the unashamedly silly, Epic Pythagoras. But I also had a somewhat educational message that I wanted to share on proof by contraposition…

Test-and-trace: The Need for Speed (video)

Test and trace offers a promising path to halt the spread of an infectious disease in its tracks. But how accurate does the testing need to be? And how fast must cases be traced? In this video we offer the control theorist’s perspective, and investigate what stability theory and the fundamental limits of feedback have to say.