By Evan Nixon 12/01/2009. I will present on five different scientists and engineers who have had...
-
Upload
austen-gaines -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
1
Transcript of By Evan Nixon 12/01/2009. I will present on five different scientists and engineers who have had...
Overview
I will present on five different scientists and engineers who have had significant achievements that relate to systems engineering
Jay Forrester Claude Shannon Wernher von Braun Andrei Kolmogorov Lev Pontryagin
Jay Forrester: Life
Born July 14, 1918, Anselmo, Nebraska
Early fascination with electricity
Attended University of Nebraska, EE
Worked at MIT as a research assistant after college
Jay Forrester: MIT and the Navy
Pioneered work in feedback control systems at MIT
In WWII he developed servomechanisms for gun mounts and radar antennas
Developed an aircraft flight simulator His simulator eventually became the
SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment)
SAGE
To the left is the SAGE control room
System used from 1950s into 1980s
Used to intercept enemy bomber aircraft
Advanced online systems, real-time computing, and data communications
Management
In 1956 Forrester moved to the MIT school of Management
He applied his work to computationally analyze social situations
Contributions and Acknowledgements
Founder of System Dynamics Improved interactive computing and
online systems He worked on some of the most
successful large computer systems ever built
IEEE Computer Pioneer Award in 1982 National Medal of Technology in 1989 Inducted into the Operational Research
Hall of fame
Claude Shannon
“Father of information theory”
April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001
Attended University of Michigan, MIT
Famous for master’s thesis on digital circuitry
A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits
Argued that Boolean algebra could simplify electromechanical relays used in telephone switches
Reverse of the concept: electronic switches could perform logic operations
This work became the foundation for digital circuit design
Earned Shannon the Alfred Noble American Institute of American Engineers Award in 1940
Post Graduate School
Shannon became a National Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton
Joined Bell Labs to work on control systems and cryptography during WWII
The Beginning of Information Theory
Shannon published a paper titled “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” in 1948
Focused on optimal methods for encoding data
Developed information entropy Effectively invented information theory Also introduced Sampling Theory
Oddities
Shannon was interested in juggling and unicycling
Invented rocket-powered flying discs
Created a motorized pogo-stick
Invented a flame-throwing trumpet
Contributions and Acknowledgements
Credited with the founding of information theory
All computers are descendent from his concepts
Founded digital circuit design Important work in cryptography Alfred Noble Prize, 1940 IEEE Medal of Honor, 1966 National Medal of Science, 1966 National Inventors Hall of Fame
Wernher von Braun
March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977
Born German as a Freiherr
Attended boarding schools, inspired by space
Rocket physicist and astronautics engineer
Beginnings
Von Braun worked at a rocket test site Received a doctorate in physics from the
University of Berlin for his thesis, About Combustion Tests
His full thesis was unclassified in 1960 Von Braun was technical director of
Peenemünde, a large rocket test facility Was forced into the Nazi party if he
wished to continue his work
Nazi Involvement
Von Braun specifically designed liquid fueled rockets in aircraft for the Nazis
Was chiefly involved in the development of the V-2 rocket
Nazis eventually believed that Von Braun would flee to England and arrested him for two weeks
He was eventually released, but decided to surrender to America
America
Von Braun was instructed to continue his work and teach other American engineers rocketry secrets
Developed the Redstone rocket, then the Jupiter-C
Dreamed of presence in space, on the moon
Was chosen for orbital rocket task
Space Race
Von Braun and his German team were chosen to develop a rocket based space vehicle
Von Braun became NASA’s first director Von Braun played a large role in the
development of Saturn rockets, was director when Apollo 11 landed on the moon
Eventually relocated and was assigned to be NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning
Contributions and Acknowledgements
Made significant advances in rocketry Developed technology that led us to the
moon Knight Cross of the War Merit Cross, 1944 Smithsonian Langley Medal, 1967 NASA Distinguished Service Medal, 1969 National Medal of Science, 1975 Werner-von-Siemens-Ring, 1975 Fun Fact: the crater ‘von Braun’ on the
moon is named after him
Andrei Kolmogorov
April 25, 1903 – October 20, 1987
Immediately recognized as brilliant
Developed perpetual motion machines cleverly disguised as to fool teachers
Moscow State University, then Chemistry Technological Institute
Mathematics
Kolmogorov began proving results in set theory and Fourier series theory
Internationally recognized when he developed a special Fourier series, decided to become a mathematician
One of Kolmogorov’s most famous works, About the Analytical Methods of Probability Theory, published in 1931
Foundations of the Theory of Probability
Laid foundations for probability theory Kolmogorov regarded as leading expert in
this field Elected a academician of the USSR
Academy of Sciences Later published a paper establishing
theory regarding smoothing stochastic processes
Later Research
Developed Chapman-Kolmogorov equations with mathematician Sydney Chapman
Advanced stochastic processes Later studied turbulence, developed
Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theorem Founder of algorithmic complexity theory Solved Hilbert’s thirteenth problem, a
proof of whether or not solutions exist for all 7th degree equations of functions of two arguments
Contributions and Acknowledgements
Contributed greatly to probability theory Famous work in intuitionistic logic Founder of algorithmic complexity theory Laureate of the Wolf Prize in Mathematics Stalin Prize Winner
Lev Pontryagin
September 3, 1908 – May 3, 1988
Lost his eyesight in a stove explosion at age 14
Mother read him mathematical books, helped him to be a mathematician
Student Studies
Worked on duality theory for homology Later developed theory about the Fourier
transform, called Pontryagin duality His work led to Pontryagin classes, a
theory of characteristic classes
Optimal Control
Pontryagin contributed greatly to optimal control theory
Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle is very important in modern optimization theory
This theory finds the best control for making a system change from one state to another
Designed to maximize a ‘benefit’ function Introduced ‘bang-bang’ principle
Contributions and Acknowledgements
Development of duality theory Breakthrough work in optimizaiton Elected to Academy of Sciences in 1939 Stalin prize, 1941 LMS Honorary Member, 1952 Speaker at International Congress, 1958 Vice President of the International
Mathematical Union, 1970