| Magnus Hestenes | |
| Birth Date: | February 13, 1906 |
| Birth Place: | Bricelyn, Minnesota, US |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, US |
| Fields: | Mathematics |
| Workplaces: | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Alma Mater: | University of Chicago |
| Thesis Title: | Sufficient Conditions for the General Problem of Mayer with Variable End-Points |
| Doctoral Advisors: | )--> |
| Doctoral Students: | |
| Known For: | Augmented Lagrangian method Conjugate gradient method |
| Awards: | Guggenheim Fellowship (1954) |
Magnus Rudolph Hestenes (February 13, 1906 – May 31, 1991) was an American mathematician best known for his contributions to calculus of variations and optimal control.[1] As a pioneer in computer science, he devised the conjugate gradient method, published jointly with Eduard Stiefel.[2] [3]
Born in Bricelyn, Minnesota, Hestenes graduated with a B.S. in 1927 from St. Olaf College and with an M.A. in 1928 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[4] He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1932 under Gilbert Bliss. His dissertation was titled "Sufficient Conditions for the General Problem of Mayer with Variable End-Points." After teaching as an associate professor at Chicago, in 1947 he moved to a professorship at UCLA. He continued there until his retirement in 1973, and during that time he served as department chair from 1950 to 1958. While a professor, Hestenes supervised the thesis research of 34 students, among them Glen Culler, Richard Tapia and Jesse Wilkins, Jr.
Hestenes received the Guggenheim (1954) and Fulbright awards, was a vice president of the American Mathematical Society, and was an invited speaker at the 1954 International Congress of Mathematicians in Amsterdam.[5]
He is the father of mathematician and physicist David Hestenes.
He died on May 31, 1991, in Los Angeles, California.