Oral History Interview, Stephen Wright (2179)

Abstract

In this October 4th, 2022 interview with Francisco Hernandez Moleres, Prof. Stephen Wright reflects on his career in computer science and shares his thoughts about receiving the 2022 Hilldale Award. Throughout the conversation, Prof. Wright describes his formative years in Queensland, Australia, and his experience at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, before his arrival at UW-Madison in 2001. He notes the growth of his research field, optimization, since the pioneering work of UW-Madison professor Olvi Mangaserian in the 1960s to the “boom” of optimization in the early 2000s. Prof. Wright discusses his work developing software packages and sharing them publicly, his professional service with optimization and applied math societies, and his publishment of widely used textbooks.