inControl ep29 - Richard Bellman: The Father of Dynamic Programming
Jan 17, 2025
Explore the remarkable journey of Richard Bellman, the father of dynamic programming, tracing his transition from an early life in Brooklyn to pivotal roles during WWII and at Princeton. Hear about his moral dilemmas at Los Alamos and the RAND Corporation amidst the Cold War. Delve into his groundbreaking contributions to control theory and the curse of dimensionality. Discover the resilience of a man who continued to innovate in mathematics, even after personal challenges, leaving a profound legacy in artificial intelligence and optimization.
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Childhood That Shaped A Mathematician
- Richard Bellman grew up in 1920s Brooklyn, faced family illness, and developed an early love for mathematics and reading.
- He credited left-handedness and diverse interests for shaping his creative, questioning mindset.
War Changed Early Career Plans
- Bellman married Betty Jo in November 1941 and soon left Johns Hopkins due to World War II disruptions.
- He taught electronics to military personnel and discovered the value of approximation in applied problems.
Inequalities As Practical Tools
- Bellman's Madison work led to the Bellman-Gronwall inequality, a key tool for stability analysis.
- He used inequalities to bound system evolution and inform control design under perturbations.
