Martin Beale
Encyclopedia
Evelyn Martin Lansdowne Beale FRS (8 September 1928-1985) was an applied mathematician and statistician
who was one of the pioneers of mathematical programming
.
and Trinity College, Cambridge
, and then joined the Mathematics Group at the UK Admiralty Research Laboratory
, working under Stephen Vajda. In 1955 he extended George Dantzig
's Simplex Algorithm
to minimise a quadratic function
.
In 1961 he became a founder member of a computer services company C.E.I.R (UK), which became Scicon, and in 1967 he became Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London.
He was Chairman of the Mathematical Programming Society
from 1974 to 1976, and Vice President of the Royal Statistical Society
from 1978 to 1980, a Fellow of the British Computer Society
, and a member of the International Statistical Institute
. In 1979, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society "for his applications of mathematical and statistical techniques to industrial problems and for his contributions to the theory of mathematical programming", and he was elected to the Council of the Royal Society
in 1984. He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Operational Research Society in 1980, and became Vice President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
. He was also non-executive Chairman of Beale International Technology.
The Times
suggested that he "used his blend of theory and state-of-the-art practice to encourage several generations of young mathematicians and computer scientists," and that his "many papers and his seminal book Mathematical Programming in Practice were major influences in their field, with their succinctness and clarity."
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
who was one of the pioneers of mathematical programming
Mathematical Programming
Mathematical Programming, established in 1971, and published by Springer Science+Business Media, is the official scientific journal of the Mathematical Optimization Society. It currently consists of two series: A and B. The "A" series contains general publications. The "B" series focuses on topical...
.
Career
He was educated at Winchester CollegeWinchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, and then joined the Mathematics Group at the UK Admiralty Research Laboratory
Admiralty Research Laboratory
The Admiralty Research Laboratory, or ARL, was a research laboratory that supported the work of the UK Admiralty in Teddington, London, England....
, working under Stephen Vajda. In 1955 he extended George Dantzig
George Dantzig
George Bernard Dantzig was an American mathematical scientist who made important contributions to operations research, computer science, economics, and statistics....
's Simplex Algorithm
Simplex algorithm
In mathematical optimization, Dantzig's simplex algorithm is a popular algorithm for linear programming. The journal Computing in Science and Engineering listed it as one of the top 10 algorithms of the twentieth century....
to minimise a quadratic function
Quadratic function
A quadratic function, in mathematics, is a polynomial function of the formf=ax^2+bx+c,\quad a \ne 0.The graph of a quadratic function is a parabola whose axis of symmetry is parallel to the y-axis....
.
In 1961 he became a founder member of a computer services company C.E.I.R (UK), which became Scicon, and in 1967 he became Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London.
He was Chairman of the Mathematical Programming Society
Mathematical Programming Society
Known as the Mathematical Programming Society until 2010, the Mathematical Optimization Society is an international association of researchers active in optimization...
from 1974 to 1976, and Vice President of the Royal Statistical Society
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
from 1978 to 1980, a Fellow of the British Computer Society
British Computer Society
The British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
, and a member of the International Statistical Institute
International Statistical Institute
The International Statistical Institute is a professional association of statisticians. The Institut International de Statistique or International Statistical Institute was founded in 1885 although there had been international congresses from 1853.. The Institute publishes a variety of books and...
. In 1979, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society "for his applications of mathematical and statistical techniques to industrial problems and for his contributions to the theory of mathematical programming", and he was elected to the Council of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1984. He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Operational Research Society in 1980, and became Vice President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications is the UK's chartered professional body for mathematicians and one of the UK's learned societies for mathematics ....
. He was also non-executive Chairman of Beale International Technology.
The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
suggested that he "used his blend of theory and state-of-the-art practice to encourage several generations of young mathematicians and computer scientists," and that his "many papers and his seminal book Mathematical Programming in Practice were major influences in their field, with their succinctness and clarity."
Memorials
- The Mathematical Programming SocietyMathematical Programming SocietyKnown as the Mathematical Programming Society until 2010, the Mathematical Optimization Society is an international association of researchers active in optimization...
awards the "Beale–Orchard-Hays" Prize in memory of him and of William Orchard-Hays. - The OR Society awards the Beale Medal for "the most outstanding sustained contribution to Operational Research".
- A 2-day symposium was held in his memory at the Royal Society in 1987.
- The book Questions of TruthQuestions of TruthQuestions of Truth is a book by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale which offers their responses to 51 questions about science and religion...
is dedicated to him and to Ruth Polkinghorne. - He makes a cameo appearance in E.M. Delafield's A Provincial Lady Goes Further.
Publications
Beale produced over 100 scholarly papers and two books:- Mathematical Programming in Practice, Pitman Publishing, London, 1968
- Introduction to Optimization, John Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
, 1988, ISBN 0471917605, based on his lecture notes and working papers at Scicon and edited by his former colleague Lynne Mackley.