J. M. R. Parrondo
Encyclopedia
Juan Manuel Rodríguez Parrondo (born 9 January 1964) is a Spanish physicist
best known for the strikingly counterintuitive Parrondo's paradox
, where switching between losing strategies can, in some cases, win on average. In 1996, he developed games of chance, now called Parrondo's games, that exhibited this apparently paradoxical phenomenon. Much of his work touches on thermodynamics and information, and he is known for contributions to the theory of noised induced phase transitions, Brownian ratchet
s, physics of information
, and statistical mechanics
.
, Spain
, as Juan Manuel Rodríguez Parrondo. He obtained both his bachelors degree (1987) and his PhD (1992) from the Complutense University of Madrid. His external doctoral advisor was Francisco Javier de la Rubia based at UNED. The topic of Parrondo's doctoral thesis was in the area of stochastic differential equation
s and random walk
s in fractal
s. His doctoral thesis was entitled Técnicas Geométricas y de Renormalización en Procesos Estocásticos (Geometrical renormalization techniques for stochastic processes).
After his doctoral thesis, Parrondo carried out postdoctoral research that combined themes in information theory and thermodynamics—this proved influential in shaping his future directions. As a postdoctoral researcher he worked on noise induced phase transition
s with Katja Lindenberg at UCSD, U.S.
, in 1992; neural network
s with Chris Van den Broeck at Hasselt University, Belgium, in 1993; Maxwell demons under Thomas M. Cover
at Stanford University
, U.S.
, in 1995.
In 1996, he obtained a permanent position at the Complutense University of Madrid and it was in this year that he devised the concept of losing games of chance, which paradoxically win when combined. In 1999, he visited Marcelo O. Magnasco at the Rockefeller University
, New York
, working on Brownian ratchet
s and Derek Abbott
at the University of Adelaide
, Australia
, working on Parrondo's games. In 2005, Parrondo performed another extended collaborative visit, this time with Carlos Bustamante
at the University of California, Berkeley
, U.S.
, working in molecular motors.
In the 2003-2004 period, Parrondo performed a regular series of science items for the Spanish Public National Radio (RNE). From 2001 to present, Parrondo is the Spanish equivalent of Martin Gardner
writing the "Mathematical Games" column for the Spanish edition of Scientific American
called Investigación & Ciencia. Although this column in the English-speaking version has been discontinued, the "Mathematical Games" column is alive and well under the leadership of Parrondo in the Spanish edition.
s operate and first presented the idea on a viewgraph slide entitled How to Cheat a Bad Mathematician, at an EEC workshop on Complexity and Chaos, Torino, Italy
. In that same year he published an article critiquing Richard Feynman's
analysis of a Brownian ratchet in the American Journal of Physics
. Derek Abbott
at the University of Adelaide
, Australia
, was working on a related, but still unsolved, problem regarding Feynman's analysis. Parrondo's article prompted Abbott to fly to Madrid in 1997 and they met for the first time—but the problem proved tough and it was not until 1999 they finally published a solution. However, in the meantime, Parrondo shared the concept of his paradoxical games—consequently Abbott coined the terms "Parrondo's paradox" and "Parrondo's games," publishing verification of the result in the journal Nature
, in 1999.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
best known for the strikingly counterintuitive Parrondo's paradox
Parrondo's paradox
Parrondo's paradox, a paradox in game theory, has been described as: A losing strategy that wins. It is named after its creator, Spanish physicist Juan Parrondo, who discovered the paradox in 1996...
, where switching between losing strategies can, in some cases, win on average. In 1996, he developed games of chance, now called Parrondo's games, that exhibited this apparently paradoxical phenomenon. Much of his work touches on thermodynamics and information, and he is known for contributions to the theory of noised induced phase transitions, Brownian ratchet
Brownian ratchet
In the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics, the Brownian ratchet, or Feynman-Smoluchowski ratchet is a thought experiment about an apparent perpetual motion machine first analysed in 1912 by Polish physicist Marian Smoluchowski and popularised by American Nobel laureate physicist Richard...
s, physics of information
Physical information
In physics, physical information refers generally to the information that is contained in a physical system. Its usage in quantum mechanics In physics, physical information refers generally to the information that is contained in a physical system. Its usage in quantum mechanics In physics,...
, and statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...
.
Biography
He was born in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, as Juan Manuel Rodríguez Parrondo. He obtained both his bachelors degree (1987) and his PhD (1992) from the Complutense University of Madrid. His external doctoral advisor was Francisco Javier de la Rubia based at UNED. The topic of Parrondo's doctoral thesis was in the area of stochastic differential equation
Stochastic differential equation
A stochastic differential equation is a differential equation in which one or more of the terms is a stochastic process, thus resulting in a solution which is itself a stochastic process....
s and random walk
Random walk
A random walk, sometimes denoted RW, is a mathematical formalisation of a trajectory that consists of taking successive random steps. For example, the path traced by a molecule as it travels in a liquid or a gas, the search path of a foraging animal, the price of a fluctuating stock and the...
s in fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
s. His doctoral thesis was entitled Técnicas Geométricas y de Renormalización en Procesos Estocásticos (Geometrical renormalization techniques for stochastic processes).
After his doctoral thesis, Parrondo carried out postdoctoral research that combined themes in information theory and thermodynamics—this proved influential in shaping his future directions. As a postdoctoral researcher he worked on noise induced phase transition
Phase transition
A phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another.A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties....
s with Katja Lindenberg at UCSD, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in 1992; neural network
Neural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
s with Chris Van den Broeck at Hasselt University, Belgium, in 1993; Maxwell demons under Thomas M. Cover
Thomas M. Cover
Thomas M. Cover is Professor jointly in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Statistics at Stanford University...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in 1995.
In 1996, he obtained a permanent position at the Complutense University of Madrid and it was in this year that he devised the concept of losing games of chance, which paradoxically win when combined. In 1999, he visited Marcelo O. Magnasco at the Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, working on Brownian ratchet
Brownian ratchet
In the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics, the Brownian ratchet, or Feynman-Smoluchowski ratchet is a thought experiment about an apparent perpetual motion machine first analysed in 1912 by Polish physicist Marian Smoluchowski and popularised by American Nobel laureate physicist Richard...
s and Derek Abbott
Derek Abbott
Derek Abbott is a physicist and electronic engineer. He is a Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Adelaide, Australia...
at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, working on Parrondo's games. In 2005, Parrondo performed another extended collaborative visit, this time with Carlos Bustamante
Carlos Bustamante
Carlos José Bustamante is an American scientist. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.-Biography:Bustamante is an HHMI investigator and professor of molecular and cell biology, physics, and chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, a position he has held since 1998. He...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, working in molecular motors.
In the 2003-2004 period, Parrondo performed a regular series of science items for the Spanish Public National Radio (RNE). From 2001 to present, Parrondo is the Spanish equivalent of Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
writing the "Mathematical Games" column for the Spanish edition of Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
called Investigación & Ciencia. Although this column in the English-speaking version has been discontinued, the "Mathematical Games" column is alive and well under the leadership of Parrondo in the Spanish edition.
Genesis of Parrondo's Games
Parrondo initially devised his countintuitive games of chance, in 1996, as an illustration of how Brownian ratchetBrownian ratchet
In the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics, the Brownian ratchet, or Feynman-Smoluchowski ratchet is a thought experiment about an apparent perpetual motion machine first analysed in 1912 by Polish physicist Marian Smoluchowski and popularised by American Nobel laureate physicist Richard...
s operate and first presented the idea on a viewgraph slide entitled How to Cheat a Bad Mathematician, at an EEC workshop on Complexity and Chaos, Torino, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In that same year he published an article critiquing Richard Feynman's
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
analysis of a Brownian ratchet in the American Journal of Physics
American Journal of Physics
The American Journal of Physics is a monthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics. The editor is Jan Tobochnik of Kalamazoo College.-Aims and scope:...
. Derek Abbott
Derek Abbott
Derek Abbott is a physicist and electronic engineer. He is a Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Adelaide, Australia...
at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, was working on a related, but still unsolved, problem regarding Feynman's analysis. Parrondo's article prompted Abbott to fly to Madrid in 1997 and they met for the first time—but the problem proved tough and it was not until 1999 they finally published a solution. However, in the meantime, Parrondo shared the concept of his paradoxical games—consequently Abbott coined the terms "Parrondo's paradox" and "Parrondo's games," publishing verification of the result in the journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, in 1999.