Let denote the given sequence. has forward differences
{9 - 1, 36 - 9, 100 - 36, ...} = {8, 27, 64, ...} = {2^3, 3^3, 4^3, ...}
If we call the sequence of forward differences , then for ,
is defined in terms of for all by
and so is defined recursively by
We can deduce a pattern for the general -th term:
and so on, up to
We can simplify the right hand side a bit, noticing that matches for :
and to simplify things a bit more, we shift the index of summation:
You should know that the right side has a nice closed form (look up "Faulhaber's formula" if you don't):