Linear Programming: Introduction

Linear Programming, 1: Introduction George B. Dantzig Mukund N. Thapa Springer ABOUT THE AUTHORS George B. Dantzig received the National Medal of Science from the President of the United States “for inventing Linear Programming and for discovering the Simplex Algorithm that led to wide-scale scientific and technical applications to important problems in logistics, scheduling, and network optimization, and to the use of computers in making efficient use of the mathematical theory.” He is world famous for his twin discoveries; linear programming and the Simplex Algorithm, which together have enabled mankind for the first time to structure and solve extremely complex optimal allocation and resource problems. Among his other discoveries are the Decomposition Principle (with Philip Wolfe) which makes it possible to decompose and solve extremely large linear programs having special structures, and applications of these techniques with sampling to solving practical problems subject to uncertainty. Since its discovery in 1947, the field of linear programming, together with its extensions (mathematical programming), has grown by leaps and bounds and is today the most widely used tool in industry for planning and scheduling. George Dantzig received his master’s from Michigan and his doctorate in mathematics from Berkeley in 1946. He worked for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, served as chief of the Combat Analysts Branch for USAF Headquarters during World War II, research mathematician for RAND Corporation, and professor and head of the Operations Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently professor of operations research and computer science at Stanford University. He served as director of the System Optimization Laboratory and the PILOT Energy-Economic Model Project. Professor Dantzig’s seminal work has laid the foundation for the field of systems e