Charles Van Loan, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science professor and Dean of the Cornell Faculty, will deliver The John von Neumann Lecture, "Untangling Random Polygons and Other Things," at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) annual meeting in Portland, Oregon on July 10.
The 2018 John von Neumann Lecture prize will be awarded to Van Loan in recognition of his pioneering contributions to research in numerical linear algebra and to the exposition of the subject.
Van Loan has led the way in developing theory and algorithms -- with a particular view to applications in signal processing and control theory. His book Matrix Computations, now in its fourth edition, is the canonical reference and has shaped the field and influenced the way the community thinks about matrix computations.
The John von Neumann Lecture was established in 1959 in honor of the Hungarian-American mathematician after whom the prize is named. The lecture is awarded for outstanding and distinguished contributions to the field of applied mathematical sciences and for the effective communication of these ideas to the community.