Magnus Hestenes
American mathematician (1906–1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Magnus Rudolph Hestenes (February 13, 1906 – May 31, 1991) was an American mathematician best known for his contributions to calculus of variations and optimal control.[1] As a pioneer in computer science, he devised the conjugate gradient method, published jointly with Eduard Stiefel.[2][3]
Magnus Hestenes | |
|---|---|
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| Born | February 13, 1906 |
| Died | May 31, 1991 (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Education | University of Chicago |
| Known for | Augmented Lagrangian method Conjugate gradient method |
| Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship (1954) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Workplaces | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Thesis | Sufficient Conditions for the General Problem of Mayer with Variable End-Points |
| Gilbert Bliss | |
Doctoral students | |
Biography
Born in Bricelyn, Minnesota, Hestenes graduated with a B.S. in 1927 from St. Olaf College and with an M.A. in 1928 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[4] He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1932 under Gilbert Bliss. His dissertation was titled "Sufficient Conditions for the General Problem of Mayer with Variable End-Points." After teaching as an associate professor at Chicago, in 1947 he moved to a professorship at UCLA. He continued there until his retirement in 1973, and during that time he served as department chair from 1950 to 1958. While a professor, Hestenes supervised the thesis research of 34 students, among them Glen Culler, Richard Tapia and Jesse Wilkins, Jr.
Hestenes received Guggenheim (1954) and Fulbright awards, was a vice president of the American Mathematical Society, and was an invited speaker at the 1954 International Congress of Mathematicians in Amsterdam.[5]
He is the father of mathematician and physicist David Hestenes.
He died on May 31, 1991, in Los Angeles, California.
Selected publications
- Hestenes, Magnus Rudolph (1928). Path of a Rotating Sphere. University of Wisconsin–Madison. (M.A. thesis)
- ——— (1966). Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control Theory. Wiley. ISBN 9780471374701.
- ——— (1975). Optimization Theory: The Finite Dimensional Case. Wiley. ISBN 9780471374718.[6]
- ——— (1980). Conjugate Direction Methods in Optimization. Springer. ISBN 9783540904557.
- Landesman, Edward M.; ——— (1992). Linear Algebra for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780135295618.
