Henry J. Kelley
Henry J. Kelley (1926-1988) held the title of Christopher C. Kraft Professor of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was an American aerospace, ocean, and computer engineer who made major contributions to control theory, with particular weight in aeronautical engineering and flight optimization.
Long before anyone used the term machine learning, a technique Kelley worked out for plotting flight paths would matter again far outside aerospace. It would become part of the mathematics now driving artificial neural networks. What carried an aeronautical engineer working in industry to deriving mathematics at the root of modern computing? And what recognition did that unlikely path earn him within his own field?
In 1948, Kelley received a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering from NYU, and that same year he began working for Grumman Aircraft. He continued his studies part time, adding a Master of Science in mathematics in 1951. By 1958, that same part time path produced an Sc.D. in aeronautical engineering.
In 1963, Kelley left Grumman, where he had risen to Assistant Chief of the Research Department. He and two partners used that departure to found Analytical Mechanics Associates the same year. Fifteen years later, in 1978, Kelley moved into academia as a professor in the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
That same industry career had already produced a piece of research, published while he still worked in aerospace, that would reach far beyond it.
In 1960, Kelley published a paper titled "Gradient Theory of Optimal Flight Paths," now considered a major contribution to the field. Working within the framework of control theory, Kelley derived the basic mathematics behind backpropagation. That method is now central to training machine learning systems and artificial neural networks. Recognition for that paper arrived within the same decade, the first of several honors that would follow him through the rest of his career.
In 1959, NYU presented Kelley with its Founder's Day Award. Two years later, in 1961, the IAS New York Section gave him its own award. By 1973, the AIAA gave him its Guidance and Control of Flight Award. In 1979, the AIAA gave him the Pendray Aerospace Literature Award as well.
Kelley held Fellow status with the AIAA, and he belonged to the AAS, the IEEE, and SIAM. He also founded and served as first chairman of IFAC's Mathematics of Control Committee. As that committee's first chairman, Kelley helped set a direction for how control theory's mathematicians would organize their shared work going forward.
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Common questions
Who was Henry J. Kelley?
Henry J. Kelley was an American aerospace, ocean, and computer engineer who served as the Christopher C. Kraft Professor of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
When was Henry J. Kelley born and when did he die?
Henry J. Kelley was born in 1926 and died in 1988.
What is Henry J. Kelley's connection to backpropagation and machine learning?
Working within control theory, Henry J. Kelley derived the basic mathematics behind backpropagation, a method now widely used for machine learning and artificial neural networks.
What did Henry J. Kelley publish in 1960?
In 1960, Henry J. Kelley published a paper titled "Gradient Theory of Optimal Flight Paths," considered a major contribution to the field.
Where did Henry J. Kelley work before he became a professor?
Henry J. Kelley worked for Grumman Aircraft starting in 1948, rising to Assistant Chief of the Research Department before he left in 1963 to found Analytical Mechanics Associates with two partners.
What awards did Henry J. Kelley receive?
Henry J. Kelley received NYU's Founder's Day Award in 1959, the IAS New York Section Award in 1961, the AIAA Guidance and Control of Flight Award in 1973, and the AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award in 1979.
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