of chaotic systems. The "ratio of convergence" measured in this study is now known as the first Feigenbaum constant. The logistic map is a prominent example of the mappings that Feigenbaum studied in his noted 1978 article: "Quantitative Universality for a Class of Nonlinear Transformations". Feigenbaum's other contributions include the development of important new fractal methods in cartography, starting when he was hired by Hammond to develop techniques to allow computers to assist in drawing maps. The introduction to the Hammond Atlas (1992) states: Using fractal geometry to describe natural forms such as coastlines, mathematical physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum developed software capable of reconfiguring coastlines, borders, and mountain ranges to fit a multitude of map scales and projections. Dr. Feigenbaum also created a new computerized type-placement program which places thousands of map labels in minutes, a task that previously required days of tedious labor. In another practical application of his work, he founded Numerix with Michael Goodkin in 1996. The company's initial product was a software algorithm that dramatically reduced the time required for Monte Carlo pricing of exotic financial derivatives and structured products. Numerix remains one of the leading software providers to financial market participants. The press release made on the occasion of his receiving the Wolf Prize summed up his works: The impact of Feigenbaum's discoveries has been phenomenal. It has spanned new fields of theoretical and experimental mathematics ... It is hard to think of any other development in recent theoretical science that has had so broad an impact over so wide a range of fields, spanning both the very pure and the very applied. Works See also Theory of Colours (book) References External links Feigenbaum's webpage at Rockefeller Cvitanović, P. "A very brief history of universality in period doubling" Cvitanović, P. "A not so short history of Universal Function" 1944 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Philadelphia 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 21st-century American physicists Chaos theorists City College of New York alumni Jewish American scientists Jewish physicists MacArthur Fellows Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scripps Research Wolf Prize in Physics laureates Mathematical physicists Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Samuel J. Tilden High School alumni Mathematicians from New York (state) Cornell University faculty MIT Center for Theoretical Physics alumni