Mathematics in Science and Engineering, Volume 31: Topics in Optimization compiles contributions to the field of optimization of dynamical systems. This book is organized into two parts. Part 1 covers reported investigations that are based on variational techniques and constitute essentially extensions of the classical calculus of variations. The contributions to optimal control theory and its applications, where the arguments are primarily geometric in nature, are discussed in Part 2. This volume specifically discusses the inequalities in a variational problem, singular extremals, mathematical foundations of system optimization, and synthesis of optimal controls. This publication is recommended for both theoreticians and practitioners.