  This paper is concerned with the state-constrained optimal control of the
three-dimensional thermistor problem, a fully quasilinear coupled system of a
parabolic and elliptic PDE with mixed boundary conditions. This system models
the heating of a conducting material by means of direct current. Local
existence, uniqueness and continuity for the state system are derived by
employing maximal parabolic regularity in the fundamental theorem of Pr\"uss.
Global solutions are addressed, which includes analysis of the linearized state
system via maximal parabolic regularity, and existence of optimal controls is
shown if the temperature gradient is under control. The adjoint system
involving measures is investigated using a duality argument. These results
allow to derive first-order necessary conditions for the optimal control
problem in form of a qualified optimality system. The theoretical findings are
illustrated by numerical results.
