Lawrence J. Fogel
Encyclopedia
Dr. Lawrence J. Fogel was a pioneer in evolutionary computation
and human factors analysis. He is known as the father of evolutionary programming
. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he earned his B.E.E. from New York University
in 1948, M.S. from Rutgers University
in 1952 and Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles
in 1964, and died in San Diego, California.
, a division of General Dynamics
(San Diego, CA).
(NSF) from July 1960 to July 1961. While at the NSF, Dr. Fogel represented the Associate Director at technical and professional meetings accomplishing liaison within and outside the National Science Foundation on matters ranging from the merit of individual research proposals to the effect of national policies on future manpower, economic and military strength. This effort culminated in a report to the U.S. Congress on the worth of investing in scientific progress. While at NSF, Dr. Fogel's interest in cybernetics
and biotechnology led to a hypothesis that a simulation of evolution on computers could be used to generate artificial intelligence
. These theories were first tested successfully upon his return to Convair.
in 1964, included the first dissertation in the field of evolutionary computation
titled "On the Organization of Intellect." His dissertation became the basis for the first book in the field of evolutionary computing titled "Artificial Intelligence through Simulated Evolution," co-authored by Alvin Owens and Michael Walsh. Dr. Fogel started Decision Science, Inc. in 1965, the first company dedicated to the advancement and practice of evolutionary computing for real-world problem solving. The company was acquired in 1982 by Titan Systems, Inc. Dr. Fogel also worked at ORINCON Corp. in San Diego from the late 1980s to early 1990s. Dr. Fogel was a co-founder and president of Natural Selection, Inc., which has been in business since 1993 applying methods of computational intelligence
to real-world problems.
.
, “System for Improving Intelligibility,” January 5, 1960.
, “Advance Flight Control Instrumentation and Control System,” November 22, 1960.
, “Apparatus for Improving Intelligence Under High Ambient Noise Levels,” December 27, 1960.
, “Method and Apparatus for Training a Neural Network using Evolutionary Programming,” May 25, 1993.
Evolutionary computation
In computer science, evolutionary computation is a subfield of artificial intelligence that involves combinatorial optimization problems....
and human factors analysis. He is known as the father of evolutionary programming
Evolutionary programming
Evolutionary programming is one of the four major evolutionary algorithm paradigms. It is similar to genetic programming, but the structure of the program to be optimized is fixed, while its numerical parameters are allowed to evolve....
. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he earned his B.E.E. from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1948, M.S. from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1952 and Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in 1964, and died in San Diego, California.
Aerospace Engineering and Antenna Design
Dr. Fogel’s first decade of engineering (1948-1960) began with an interest in antenna design, ensuring reliability of weapons systems, and inventing interfaces for human operators. He analyzed and designed flight instrumentation for high performance and vertical takeoff aircraft as well as helicopters. He also engineered design concepts for various individual instruments, including all altitude indicators, airspeed indicators, altimeters, as well as related displays. His keen insight led to five patents issued from 1958-1961 pertaining to two separate inventions regarding active noise cancellation and a revolutionary cockpit display known as the "Kinelog." He worked at Stavid Engineering (New Jersey, NJ) and ConvairConvair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
, a division of General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
(San Diego, CA).
National Science Foundation
On leave from Convair, Dr. Fogel served as Special Assistant to the Associate Director (Research) at the National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF) from July 1960 to July 1961. While at the NSF, Dr. Fogel represented the Associate Director at technical and professional meetings accomplishing liaison within and outside the National Science Foundation on matters ranging from the merit of individual research proposals to the effect of national policies on future manpower, economic and military strength. This effort culminated in a report to the U.S. Congress on the worth of investing in scientific progress. While at NSF, Dr. Fogel's interest in cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
and biotechnology led to a hypothesis that a simulation of evolution on computers could be used to generate artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. These theories were first tested successfully upon his return to Convair.
Evolutionary Programming
Dr. Fogel's Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in 1964, included the first dissertation in the field of evolutionary computation
Evolutionary computation
In computer science, evolutionary computation is a subfield of artificial intelligence that involves combinatorial optimization problems....
titled "On the Organization of Intellect." His dissertation became the basis for the first book in the field of evolutionary computing titled "Artificial Intelligence through Simulated Evolution," co-authored by Alvin Owens and Michael Walsh. Dr. Fogel started Decision Science, Inc. in 1965, the first company dedicated to the advancement and practice of evolutionary computing for real-world problem solving. The company was acquired in 1982 by Titan Systems, Inc. Dr. Fogel also worked at ORINCON Corp. in San Diego from the late 1980s to early 1990s. Dr. Fogel was a co-founder and president of Natural Selection, Inc., which has been in business since 1993 applying methods of computational intelligence
Computational intelligence
Computational intelligence is a set of Nature-inspired computational methodologies and approaches to address complex problems of the real world applications to which traditional methodologies and approaches are ineffective or infeasible. It primarily includes Fuzzy logic systems, Neural Networks...
to real-world problems.
Model Aviation
Dr. Fogel was also well-known for aeromodeling and was a Fellow of the Academy of Model AeronauticsAcademy of Model Aeronautics
The Academy of Model Aeronautics, based in Muncie, Indiana, USA, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of model aviation as a recognized sport as well as a recreational activity. It is the largest organization of its kind with a current membership of more than 170,000...
.
Scientific Awards and Honors
- Fellow, IEEE
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Evolutionary Programming Society (1996)
- Inaugural IEEE Neural Networks Council Pioneer Award in Evolutionary Computation (1998)
- Inaugural IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Technical Field Award (2006)
Patents
, “Method of Improving Intelligence Under Random Noise Interference,” December 30, 1958., “System for Improving Intelligibility,” January 5, 1960.
, “Advance Flight Control Instrumentation and Control System,” November 22, 1960.
, “Apparatus for Improving Intelligence Under High Ambient Noise Levels,” December 27, 1960.
- Canadian Patent 631,136, “Method of Improving Intelligence Under High Ambient Noise Levels,” November 14, 1961.
, “Method and Apparatus for Training a Neural Network using Evolutionary Programming,” May 25, 1993.
A Selection of Authored Books
- 1963, Biotechnology: Concepts and Applications. Prentice Hall.
- 1964, Biophysics and Cybernetic Systems: Proceedings of the Second Cybernetic Sciences Symposium. 1964. (M. Maxfield, A.B. Callahan, L.J. Fogel, eds.), Allan Hancock Foundation.
- 1966, Artificial Intelligence Through Simulated Evolution. with A.J. Owens, and M.J. Walsh. Wiley. New York.
- 1967, Progress in Biomedical Engineering. Spartan Books.
- 1967, Human Information Processing. Prentice Hall.
- 1967, Amosov, N.M. Modeling of Thinking and the Mind. (L. Finegold and L.J. Fogel, eds.), Spartan Books. New York.
- 1968, Composite Index to Marine Science and Technology. Alfo Pub. Co.
- 1999, Intelligence Through Simulated Evolution: Forty Years of Evolutionary Programming. Wiley-Interscience. New York.