FAMOUS SYSTEMS SCIENTISTS AND

ENGINEERSBy Evan Nixon

12/01/2009

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

FINAny questions?