Magnus Hestenes

Magnus Hestenes
Magnus Hestenes
Born	February 13, 1906; Bricelyn, Minnesota
Died	May 31, 1991 (aged 85); Los Angeles, California, US
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Chicago
	Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	University of California, Los Angeles
Doctoral advisor	Gilbert Bliss
Doctoral students	Glen Culler; William Karush; Richard Tapia; Jesse Wilkins, Jr.

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]

Biography

Born in Bricelyn, Minnesota, Hestenes 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 1950–58. While a professor, Hestenes supervised the thesis research of 34 students, among them Glen Culler, Richard Tapia and Jesse Wilkins, Jr.

Hestenes received the 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.

He is the father of mathematician and physicist David Hestenes.

He died on May 31, 1991 in Los Angeles, California.

References

Hestenes, Magnus R. (1966). Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control Theory. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Hestenes, Magnus; Stiefel, E. (1952). "Methods of Conjugate Gradients for Solving Linear Systems" (PDF). Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards. 49 (6): 409–438.
Hestenes, Magnus (1990). "Conjugacy and Gradients". In Nash, Stephen (ed.). A History of Scientific Computing. New York: ACM Press. pp. 167–179. ISBN 0-201-50814-1.

External links

Magnus Hestenes at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
Obituary in the Numerical Analysis Digest
Magnus Hestenes at Find a Grave

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[1] Hestenes, Magnus R. (1966). Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control Theory. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

[2] Hestenes, Magnus; Stiefel, E. (1952). "Methods of Conjugate Gradients for Solving Linear Systems" (PDF). Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards. 49 (6): 409–438.

[3] Hestenes, Magnus (1990). "Conjugacy and Gradients". In Nash, Stephen (ed.). A History of Scientific Computing. New York: ACM Press. pp. 167–179. ISBN 0-201-50814-1.