Delbert Ray Fulkerson (; August 14, 1924 – January 10, 1976) was an American
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
O ...
who co-developed the
FordFulkerson algorithm, one of the most well-known
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...
s to solve the
maximum flow problem
In optimization theory, maximum flow problems involve finding a feasible flow through a flow network that obtains the maximum possible flow rate.
The maximum flow problem can be seen as a special case of more complex network flow problems, such ...
in
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
s.
Early life and education
D. R. Fulkerson was born in
Tamms, Illinois, the third of six children of Elbert and Emma Fulkerson. Fulkerson became an undergraduate at
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
. His academic career was interrupted by military service during
World War II. Having returned to complete his degree after the war, he went on to do a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in mathematics at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
under the supervision of
Cyrus MacDuffee, who was a student of
L. E. Dickson
Leonard Eugene Dickson (January 22, 1874 – January 17, 1954) was an American mathematician. He was one of the first American researchers in abstract algebra, in particular the theory of finite fields and classical groups, and is also remem ...
. Fulkerson received his Ph.D. in 1951.
Career
After graduation, Fulkerson joined the mathematics department at the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
. In 1956, he and
L. R. Ford Jr. described the
Ford–Fulkerson algorithm. In 1962 they produced a book-length description of their method.
In 1971 he moved to
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...
as the Maxwell Upson Professor of Engineering. He was diagnosed with
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension, ...
and was limited in his teaching. In despair, he committed suicide in 1976.
Fulkerson was the supervisor of
Jon Folkman
Jon Hal Folkman (December 8, 1938 – January 23, 1969) was an American mathematician, a student of John Milnor, and a researcher at the RAND Corporation.
Schooling
Folkman was a Putnam Fellow in 1960. He received his Ph.D. in 1964 from Pri ...
at RAND and
Tatsuo Oyama at
GRIPS. After Folkman committed suicide in 1969, Fulkerson blamed himself for failing to notice Folkman's suicidal behaviors.
[.]
In 1979, the renowned
Fulkerson Prize
The Fulkerson Prize for outstanding papers in the area of discrete mathematics is sponsored jointly by the Mathematical Optimization Society (MOS) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Up to three awards of $1,500 each are presented at e ...
was established which is now awarded every three years for outstanding papers in
discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that can be considered "discrete" (in a way analogous to discrete variables, having a bijection with the set of natural numbers) rather than "continuous" (analogously to continuous ...
jointly by the
Mathematical Programming Society The Mathematical Optimization Society (MOS), known as the Mathematical Programming Society until 2010,American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
.
See also
*
Out-of-kilter algorithm
*
List of people diagnosed with Crohn's disease
References
External links
Delbert Ray Fulkerson prizeFulkerson biography at Cornell*
Biography of D. R. Fulkersonfrom the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulkerson, D. R.
20th-century American mathematicians
Combinatorialists
1924 births
1976 suicides
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
RAND Corporation people
People from Alexander County, Illinois
Mathematicians from Illinois
1976 deaths
People with Crohn's disease
Suicides in New York (state)