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Kiyosi It (1915 - 2008) was one of the pioneers of probability theory, and the originator of Ito Calculus. First published in 1942 in Japanese, this epoch-making theory of stochastic differential equations describes nondeterministic and random evolutions. The Ito formula has found applications in other branches of mathematics as well as in various other fields including, e.g., conformal field theory in physics, stochastic control theory in engineering, population genetics in biology, and mathematical finance in economics.
Besides being renowned for his brilliant mathematical achievements during a long and productive career spanning over sixty years, It has been a truly inspirational teacher to many mathematicians. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the 1987 Wolf Foundation Prize in Mathematics, the 1998 Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, and the 2003 Japanese Cultural Merit Prize. In 2006, It was awarded the first Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize for Applications of Mathematics.
This book contains a selection of 38 papers published between 1941 and 1983.
List of contents
Introduction.- Foreword.- Bibliography.- 38 papers.
About the author
Kiyosi It was born on September 1915, in Kuwana, Japan. After his undergraduate and doctoral studies at Tokyo University, he was associate professor at Nagoya University before joining the faculty of Kyoto University in 1952. He has remained there ever since and is now Professor Emeritus, but has also spent several years at each of Stanford, Aarhus and Cornell Universities and the University of Minnesota. It's fundamental contributions to probability theory, especially the creation of stochastic differential and integral calculus and of excursion theory, form a cornerstone of this field. They have led to a profound understanding of the infinitesimal development of Markovian sample paths, and also of applied problems and phenomena associated with the planning, control and optimization of engineering and other random systems.
