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Famous Mathematicians and Scientists

Famous Mathematicians and Scientists. Eugene Wigner Dennis Gabor George Dantzig Richard Bellman Joseph-Louis Lagrange By: Alexandra Silva. Born in Budapest, Hungary At age 11, Wigner was sent to the Austrian mountains for several weeks where he first became interested in mathematics.

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Famous Mathematicians and Scientists

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  1. Famous Mathematicians and Scientists Eugene Wigner Dennis Gabor George Dantzig Richard Bellman Joseph-Louis Lagrange By: Alexandra Silva

  2. Born in Budapest, Hungary • At age 11, Wigner was sent to the Austrian mountains for several weeks where he first became interested in mathematics. • Studied chemical engineering at TechnischeHochshule in Berlin • Soon became interested in quantum mechanics, and became a professor at Princeton • He later left Princeton and worked on the Manhattan Project • Throughout the rest of his life, Wigner continued to teach and conduct his own research in mathematics, physics, and later philosophy. Eugene Wigner (1902-1995)

  3. Eugene Wigner: Accomplishments • Known for his work in physics: • Wigner D-Matrix for angular momentum • Wigner–Eckart theorem in quantum mechanics • Wigner quasi-probability distribution • Wigner Semicircle Distribution in mathematics • Wrote "The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences” which discuses the relationships between mathematics and physics • Wigner witnessed the first nuclear reactor go critical in 1942. • In 1962, won Nobel Prize in Physics • Fun Fact: In 1950, Eugene Wigner received an honorary degree in science from Wash.U.

  4. Born in Budapest, Hungary • First became interested in physics at age 15 • Originally wanted to study physics, but got a degree in electrical engineering instead at TechnischeHochschule in Berlin • Fleeing the Nazis, Gabor left Germany in 1933 and went to England where he worked in several laboratories doing applied physics. • Later became a professor at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London teaching applied physics Dennis Gabor (1900-1979)

  5. Dennis Gabor: Accomplishments • Made several inventions including a high pressure quartz mercury lamp which was later used in street lamps • Gabor developed wavefront reconstruction, later known as holography. It took more than 10 years after Gabor developed holography for it’s practical applications to be realized (with the invention of the laser in 1964). • Won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971

  6. Born in Portland, Oregon • Son of Tobias Dantzig, a Russian mathematician • Received degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, and UC Berkeley • Briefly joined the air force during World War II, but later returned to Berkeley where he completed his Ph.D. • Later became a professor at UC Berkeley and Stanford teaching Operations Research George Dantzig (1914-2005)

  7. George Dantzig: Accomplishments • Known as the primary founder of Linear Programming (other founders were von Neumann and Kantorovich) • Developed the idea of linear programming during his time in the Air Force after the Air Force challenged him to find a way mechanize the planning process of daily operations • Also known for creating the Simplex Method • Other accomplishments include work in nonlinear programming, sensitivity analysis, large-scale optimization, and programming under uncertainty • Won the National Medal of science in 1975 • Fun Fact: The story about Dantzig arriving late to class and then solving the previously unsolvable problems has become a common legendary story and even inspired the movie “Good Will Hunting.”

  8. Born in Brooklyn, New York • Earned a degree in Mathematics from Brooklyn College, and a masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison • Served in the US Army in a Theoretical Physics Division group called Los Alamos • In 1942, while doing his doctoral research, Bellman published his first major work, the "Stability Theory of Differential Equations” • Taught at Princeton for a few years and then worked at the Rand Corporation in California where he developed dynamic programming. • Later taught at USC teaching Medicine, Mathematics, and Electrical Engineering Richard Bellman (1920-1984)

  9. Richard Bellman: Accomplishments • Invented dynamic programming, also known as the Bellman Equation. • Dynamic programming and the Bellman Equation are used to make complex problems more simple by breaking them down into small parts. • Used in Control Theory and Economic Theory • Coined the term “Curse of Dimensionality” which refers to the “problem caused by the exponential increase in volume associated with adding extra dimensions to a (mathematical) space.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_dimensionality • In 1979, won the IEEE medal of honor for his work in dynamic programming • Fun Fact: After serving in the army, earned Ph.D. in record time from Princeton (3 months)

  10. Born in Italy, but considered to be French • Educated at the College of Turin in Italy • First became interested in mathematics at age 17 after reading a paper by Edmund Halley • Became a professor of the Royal Artillery School in Turin in 1755 after impressing Euler with his mathematical work • Later went on to work at the Berlin Academy, replacing Euler in 1766 • After the death of his wife, moved to Paris in 1787 to become a member of the Académie des Sciences • Became the first professor of analysis in the EcolePolytechnique Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813)

  11. Joseph-Louis Lagrange: Accomplishments • Work in Mathematics • Made several discoveries in the calculus of variations and is considered one its creators • Developed equations for extrema of functionals as well as the idea of Lagrange Multipliers • Invented the method of variation of parameters for solving differential equations • Work in Physics • Contributions to the theory of vibrations of string and the propagation of sound • Studied the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn • Also worked on energy formulas in mechanics sometimes known as Lagrangian mechanics • While in Paris, worked on the metric system standardizing weights and measures • In 1808, was named by Napoleon to the Legion of Honour and Court of the Empire

  12. Works Cited • Eugene Wigner • http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1963/wigner-bio.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Wigner • http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/wigner.html • Dennis Gabor • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Gabor • http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1971/gabor-autobio.html • George Dantzig • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dantzig • http://www.stanford.edu/group/SOL/dantzig.html • Richard Bellman • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Bellman • http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/history_center/biography/bellman.html • http://www-math.cudenver.edu/~wcherowi/courses/m4010/s05/sanabria.pdf • Joseph-Louis LaGrange • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_louis_lagrange • http://www2.stetson.edu/~efriedma/periodictable/html/Lr.html

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