Michael J. D. Powell
Encyclopedia
Michael James David Powell FRS, FIMA (London, 1936 – ) is a British
mathematics
Professor
, retired from Cambridge University, where he earned his bachelors degree and, in 1979, his D.Sc.
http://history.siam.org/oralhistories/powell.htm. He is known for his extensive work in numerical analysis
, especially nonlinear optimization and Approximation
. He was a founding member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
and a founding Managing Editor of the Journal for Numerical Analysis. He was the winner of many awards, including George B. Dantzig Prize from the Mathematical Programming Society/SIAM and the Naylor Prize from the London Mathematical Society.
His mathematical contributions include quasi-Newton methods, particularly the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell formula
and the Powell's Symmetric Broyden formula, augmented Lagrangian
function (also called Powell-Rockafellar penalty function), sequential quadratic programming
method (also called as Wilson-Han-Powell method), trust region algorithms, conjugate direction method (also called Powell's method
), and radial basis function. He is the author of numerous scientific papers and of several books, most notably Approximation Theory and Methods http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521295149/.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, retired from Cambridge University, where he earned his bachelors degree and, in 1979, his D.Sc.
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
http://history.siam.org/oralhistories/powell.htm. He is known for his extensive work in numerical analysis
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
, especially nonlinear optimization and Approximation
Approximation
An approximation is a representation of something that is not exact, but still close enough to be useful. Although approximation is most often applied to numbers, it is also frequently applied to such things as mathematical functions, shapes, and physical laws.Approximations may be used because...
. He was a founding member 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 ....
and a founding Managing Editor of the Journal for Numerical Analysis. He was the winner of many awards, including George B. Dantzig Prize from the Mathematical Programming Society/SIAM and the Naylor Prize from the London Mathematical Society.
His mathematical contributions include quasi-Newton methods, particularly the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell formula
Davidon-Fletcher-Powell formula
The Davidon–Fletcher–Powell formula finds the solution to the secant equation that is closest to the current estimate and satisfies the curvature condition . It was the first quasi-Newton method which generalize the secant method to a multidimensional problem...
and the Powell's Symmetric Broyden formula, augmented Lagrangian
Augmented Lagrangian method
Augmented Lagrangian methods are a certain class of algorithms for solving constrained optimization problems. They have similarities to penalty methods in that they replace a constrained optimization problem by a series of unconstrained problems; the difference is that the augmented Lagrangian...
function (also called Powell-Rockafellar penalty function), sequential quadratic programming
Sequential quadratic programming
Sequential quadratic programming is an iterative method for nonlinear optimization. SQP methods are used on problems for which the objective function and the constraints are twice continuously differentiable....
method (also called as Wilson-Han-Powell method), trust region algorithms, conjugate direction method (also called Powell's method
Powell's method
Powell's method, strictly Powell's conjugate gradient descent method, is an algorithm proposed by Michael J. D. Powell for finding a local minimum of a function. The function need not be differentiable, and no derivatives are taken....
), and radial basis function. He is the author of numerous scientific papers and of several books, most notably Approximation Theory and Methods http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521295149/.
External links
- Interview with M.J.D. Powell by Philip J. DavisPhilip J. DavisPhilip J. Davis is an American applied mathematician.Davis was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is known for his work in numerical analysis and approximation theory, as well as his investigations in the history and philosophy of mathematics...
- Citation for winning the Catherine Richards Prize
- Entry at the Mathematics Genealogy ProjectMathematics Genealogy ProjectThe Mathematics Genealogy Project is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians. As of September, 2010, it contained information on approximately 145,000 mathematical scientists who contribute to "research-level mathematics"...
- Tribute Book to M.J.D. Powell