D. R. Fulkerson

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Delbert_Ray_Fulkerson

D. R. Fulkerson

D. R. Fulkerson was an American mathematician known for his significant contributions to the field of combinatorial optimization. He was born on June 10, 1924, and passed away on January 10, 1976.

Early Life and Education

Fulkerson obtained his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1945. He then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the same institution in 1948.

Career

Fulkerson's career was primarily focused on combinatorial optimization and graph theory. He worked at the RAND Corporation from 1952 to 1976, where he collaborated with other prominent mathematicians such as Lester R. Ford and George B. Dantzig.

One of Fulkerson's most notable contributions was the development of the Ford–Fulkerson algorithm in collaboration with Lester R. Ford. This algorithm is used to find the maximum flow in a network and has applications in various fields, including transportation and network design.

Fulkerson also made significant contributions to the study of matroid theory and the theory of polyhedra.

Legacy

D. R. Fulkerson's work continues to have a lasting impact on the field of combinatorial optimization. His research laid the foundation for many important algorithms and concepts that are still studied and applied today.

Publications

Some of Fulkerson's notable publications include: - "Maximal flow through a network" (1956) - "The traveling salesman problem" (1962) - "Computing maximum flows in networks" (1962)

Awards and Honors

Fulkerson was a recipient of the John von Neumann Theory Prize in 1979, posthumously awarded for his outstanding contributions to the field of operations research and the theory of algorithms.