Alston Scott Householder
Encyclopedia
Alston Scott Householder (Rockford
, Illinois
, USA
, 5 May 1904 – Malibu, California
, USA
, 4 July 1993) was an American mathematician
who specialized in mathematical biology
and numerical analysis
, inventor of the Householder transformation
and of Householder's method
. Married to Belle Householder (died 1975), children: John, Jackie and remarried 1984 to Heidi Householder, née Vogg.
Householder spent his youth in Alabama
; receiving a BA in philosophy
from the Northwestern University
of Evanston, Illinois
in 1925, and an MA, also in philosophy, from Cornell University
in 1927. He taught mathematics while preparing for his PhD, which was awarded at the University of Chicago
in 1937. His thesis dealt with the topic of the calculus of variations
.
After receiving his doctorate, Householder concentrated on the field of mathematical biology
, working with several other researchers with Nicolas Rashevsky
at the University of Chicago
.
In 1946, Householder joined the Mathematics Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, where he was appointed chair in 1948; it is during this period that his interests shift toward numerical analysis
. In 1969 he left ORNL to become Professor of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee
, where he eventually became chairman. In 1974 he retired to and went to live in Malibu, California.
Householder has contributed in different ways to the organisation of research. He has been president of the American Mathematical Society
, president of SIAM
and of the Association for Computing Machinery
. He was a member of the redactional committees for Psychometrika, Numerische Mathematik, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, and has been editor in chief of the SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis. He opened up his wide personal bibliography on numerical linear algebra
in form of a KWIC index. He also organized the important Gatlinburg Conferences, which are still held under the name Householder Symposia.
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 5 May 1904 – Malibu, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 4 July 1993) was an American mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
who specialized in mathematical biology
Mathematical biology
Mathematical and theoretical biology is an interdisciplinary scientific research field with a range of applications in biology, medicine and biotechnology...
and numerical analysis
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
, inventor of the Householder transformation
Householder transformation
In linear algebra, a Householder transformation is a linear transformation that describes a reflection about a plane or hyperplane containing the origin. Householder transformations are widely used in numerical linear algebra, to perform QR decompositions and in the first step of the QR algorithm...
and of Householder's method
Householder's method
In numerical analysis, the class of Householder's methods are root-finding algorithms used for functions of one real variable with continuous derivatives up to some order d+1, where d will be the order of the Householder's method....
. Married to Belle Householder (died 1975), children: John, Jackie and remarried 1984 to Heidi Householder, née Vogg.
Householder spent his youth in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
; receiving a BA in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from the Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
of Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
in 1925, and an MA, also in philosophy, from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1927. He taught mathematics while preparing for his PhD, which was awarded at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1937. His thesis dealt with the topic of the calculus of variations
Calculus of variations
Calculus of variations is a field of mathematics that deals with extremizing functionals, as opposed to ordinary calculus which deals with functions. A functional is usually a mapping from a set of functions to the real numbers. Functionals are often formed as definite integrals involving unknown...
.
After receiving his doctorate, Householder concentrated on the field of mathematical biology
Mathematical biology
Mathematical and theoretical biology is an interdisciplinary scientific research field with a range of applications in biology, medicine and biotechnology...
, working with several other researchers with Nicolas Rashevsky
Nicolas Rashevsky
Nicolas Rashevsky was a Ukrainian-American theoretical biologist who pioneered mathematical biology, and is also considered the father of mathematical biophysics and theoretical biology.-Academic career:...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
In 1946, Householder joined the Mathematics Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
, where he was appointed chair in 1948; it is during this period that his interests shift toward numerical analysis
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
. In 1969 he left ORNL to become Professor of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, where he eventually became chairman. In 1974 he retired to and went to live in Malibu, California.
Householder has contributed in different ways to the organisation of research. He has been president of the American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
, president of SIAM
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics was founded by a small group of mathematicians from academia and industry who met in Philadelphia in 1951 to start an organization whose members would meet periodically to exchange ideas about the uses of mathematics in industry. This meeting led...
and of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
. He was a member of the redactional committees for Psychometrika, Numerische Mathematik, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, and has been editor in chief of the SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis. He opened up his wide personal bibliography on numerical linear algebra
Numerical linear algebra
Numerical linear algebra is the study of algorithms for performing linear algebra computations, most notably matrix operations, on computers. It is often a fundamental part of engineering and computational science problems, such as image and signal processing, Telecommunication, computational...
in form of a KWIC index. He also organized the important Gatlinburg Conferences, which are still held under the name Householder Symposia.
External links
- Biography by G. W. Stewart