= Stanisław Ulam
{c}
<Stanisław Ulam> helped develop the modern computational use of <Monte Carlo methods>. The firsthand account by <Nicholas Metropolis> describes Ulam's proposal to revive <statistical sampling> with electronic computers and its subsequent development with <John von Neumann>.<The Beginning of the Monte Carlo Method by Nicholas Metropolis>[The Spark and The Method, pp. 126–127]{ref}
In particle-transport calculations, one samples successive events—<scattering>, <absorption> and branching—to produce many possible histories. Averaging their outcomes estimates a macroscopic quantity. The link between a physical random process, <probability distributions> and an executable <algorithm> made difficult calculations accessible without enumerating every possible trajectory.<The Beginning of the Monte Carlo Method by Nicholas Metropolis>[The Method, p. 127]{ref}
Back to article page
