Ulf Grenander
Ulf Grenander was a Swedish statistician and applied mathematician whose pattern theory linked probabilistic inference with computer vision and cognitive modeling. He began his studies at Uppsala, held academic posts in Chicago, Berkeley and Stockholm, and joined Brown University as a professor in 1966. At Brown, he founded the Pattern Theory Group in 1972, wrote General Pattern Theory, and coauthored Pattern Theory: From Representation to Inference with Michael I. Miller. He became a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 1998 and died in 2016.
Timeline
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1946–1950
Uppsala and a Stockholm PhD
His undergraduate study begins at Uppsala; he earns a B.A. in 1946, a Fil. Lic. in 1948, and a Fil. Dr. in 1950 under Harald Cramér.
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1951–1953
Chicago and Berkeley posts
He works at the University of Chicago in 1951–1952 and at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1952–1953.
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1953–1966
Directing insurance mathematics
He works at Stockholm University from 1953 to 1957 and at Brown University in 1957–1958. From 1958 to 1966, he serves as Professor and Director of the Institute for Insurance Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics.
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1966–1972
Pattern theory at Brown
He returns to Brown University in 1966 as L. Herbert Ballou University Professor and remains until retirement. He founds the Brown University Pattern Theory Group in 1972, where his work spans pattern theory, object recognition in cluttered scenes, and computer vision. Pattern theory links Bayesian inference and graphical structures to models of vision and cognitive skills.
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1993
General Pattern Theory
In 1993, he publishes General Pattern Theory, which sets out mathematical representations for complex systems and algorithms for understanding, recognizing, and restoring patterns.
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1998
National Academy membership
He becomes a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., in 1998.
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2007
Pattern Theory with Miller
In 2007, he coauthors Pattern Theory: From Representation to Inference with Michael I. Miller. The book examines speech recognition, computational linguistics, image analysis, and computer vision.
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2016
Death in 2016
He dies in 2016 after a career as a Swedish statistician and professor of applied mathematics at Brown University.
Career
- 1958–1966Institute for Insurance Mathematics and Mathematical StatisticsProfessor and Director
- 1957–1958Brown UniversityL. Herbert Ballou University Professor, Founder
- 1953–1957Stockholm University
- 1952–1953University of California, Berkeley
- 1951–1952University of Chicago
Education
- 1950Stockholm UniversityFil. Dr.
- 1948Uppsala UniversityB.A.; Fil. Lic.
Colleagues
Sources and credits
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