Gilbert Strang
{{short description|American mathematician (born 1934)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Gilbert Strang
| image = GilbertStrang.jpg
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| caption = Strang in 2021
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1934|11|27}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| fields = Mathematics
| workplaces = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| alma_mater = Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Balliol College, Oxford (BA, MA)
University of California, Los Angeles (PhD)
| thesis_title = Difference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems
| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/301900319/
| thesis_year = 1959
| doctoral_advisor = Peter K. Henrici
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| awards = Chauvenet Prize (1977)
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William Gilbert Strang (born November 27, 1934) is an American mathematician known for his contributions to finite element theory, the calculus of variations, wavelet analysis and linear algebra. He has made many contributions to mathematics education, including publishing mathematics textbooks. Strang was the MathWorks Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He taught Linear Algebra, Computational Science, and Engineering, Learning from Data, and his lectures are freely available through MIT OpenCourseWare.
Strang popularized the designation of the Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra as such.{{cite arXiv | last=Lu | first=Jun | title=Revisit the Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra | date=2021 | eprint=2108.04432 | page=| class=cs.LG }}{{cite web | title=Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra |work=Wolfram MathWorld | publisher=Wolfram Research, Inc. | date=May 29, 2014 | url=https://mathworld.wolfram.com/FundamentalTheoremofLinearAlgebra.html | access-date=June 13, 2024}}
Biography
Strang was born in Chicago in 1934. His parents William and Mary Catherine Strang migrated to the USA from Scotland. He and his sister Vivian grew up in Washington DC and Cincinnati, and went to high school at Principia in St. Louis.
Strang graduated from MIT in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. He then received a Rhodes Scholarship to University of Oxford, where he received his B.A. and M.A. from Balliol College in 1957.
Strang earned his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1959 as a National Science Foundation Fellow, under the supervision of Peter K. Henrici. His dissertation was titled "Difference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems".{{cite thesis |title=Difference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems |institution=University of California, Los Angeles |degree=PhD |first=William Gilbert |last=Strang |year=1959 |id={{ProQuest|301900319}}}}
While at Oxford, Strang met his future wife Jillian Shannon, and they married in 1958. Following his Ph.D. at UCLA, they have lived in Wellesley, Massachusetts for almost all of his 62 years on the MIT faculty. The Strangs have three sons David, John, and Robert and describe themselves as a very close-knit family. He retired on May 15, 2023 after giving his final Linear Algebra and Learning from Data{{Cite web |title=18.065 Matrix Methods in Data Analysis & Signal Processing |url=https://math.mit.edu/classes/18.065/2019SP/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=math.mit.edu}} lecture at MIT.{{Citation |title=Gil Strang's Final 18.06 Linear Algebra Lecture | date=May 15, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUUte2o2Sn8 |access-date=2023-05-15 |language=en}}
Strang's teaching has focused on linear algebra which has helped the subject become essential for students of many majors. His linear algebra video lectures are popular on YouTube and MIT OpenCourseware. Strang founded Wellesley-Cambridge Press to publish Introduction to Linear Algebra (now in 6th edition) and ten other books.
University Positions
- PhD student, UCLA (1957–1959)
- C. L. E. Moore instructor, MIT (1959–1961)
- NATO Postdoctoral Fellow, Oxford University (1961–1962)
- Mathematics faculty, MIT (1962–2023, as a professor from 1970){{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUUte2o2Sn8|title=Gil Strang's Final 18.06 Linear Algebra Lecture|date=May 15, 2023 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cite web | url=https://idss.mit.edu/staff/gilbert-strang/ | title=Gilbert Strang }}
He has received Honorary Titles and Fellowships from the following institutes:
- Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1966–1967)
- Honorary Professor, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (1980)
- Honorary Fellow, Balliol College, Oxford University (1999)
- Honorary Member, Irish Mathematical Society (2002)
- Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (2009) {{Cite web|url=https://www.siam.org/prizes-recognition/fellows-program?sort=last|title=Fellows Program | SIAM|website=www.siam.org}}
- Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Toulouse (2010)
- Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (2012)[https://www.ams.org/profession/fellows-list List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society], retrieved 2013-08-05.
- Doctor Honoris Causa, Aalborg University (2013)
Awards
- Rhodes Scholar (1955)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1957)
- Chauvenet Prize, Mathematical Association of America (1977){{cite journal | last=Strang | first=Gilbert | title=Piecewise polynomials and the finite element method | journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society | publisher=American Mathematical Society (AMS) | volume=79 | issue=6 | date=1973-11-01 | issn=0002-9904 | doi=10.1090/s0002-9904-1973-13351-8 | pages=1128–1138| doi-access=free }}
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1985)
- Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (2003)
- Lester R. Ford Award (2005){{cite journal|author=Edelman, Alan|author2=Strang, Gilbert|title=Pascal matrices|journal=Amer. Math. Monthly|volume=111|issue=3|year=2004|pages=189–197|doi=10.2307/4145127|url=http://www.maa.org/programs/maa-awards/writing-awards/pascal-matrices|jstor=4145127}}
- Von Neumann Medal, US Association for Computational Mechanics (2005)
- Deborah and Franklin Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics (2007){{Cite web|url=https://maa.org/member-communities/maa-awards/teaching-awards/section-award|title=Recipients of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics; Mathematical Association of America|website=www.maa.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608175318/https://maa.org/member-communities/maa-awards/teaching-awards/section-award |archive-date=June 8, 2024 }}
- Su Buchin Prize, International Congress (ICIAM, 2007)
- Henrici Prize (2007)
- National Academy of Sciences (2009)
- Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education (2020)[https://awards.mit.edu/awards/irwin-sizer-award-most-significant-improvement-mit-education Irwin Sizer Award], retrieved 2020-05-25.
Service
- President, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (1999, 2000){{Cite web|url=https://www.siam.org/About-SIAM/Leadership|title=Leadership {{!}} SIAM|website=www.siam.org|access-date=2019-09-11}}
- Chair, U.S. National Committee on Mathematics (2003–2004)
- Chair, National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory Panel on Mathematics
- Board Member, International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM)
- Abel Prize Committee (2003–2005)
Publications
=Books and monographs=
- Introduction to Linear Algebra, Sixth Edition, Wellesley-Cambridge Press (2023), [https://math.mit.edu/~gs/linearalgebra Introduction to Linear Algebra]{{cite web|author=Stenger, Allen|date=April 16, 2023|url=https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/introduction-to-linear-algebra-2 |title=review of Introduction to Linear Algebra, 6th edition by Gilbert Strang|website=MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America (MAA)}}
- Linear Algebra for Everyone (2020){{Cite web|url=http://math.mit.edu/~gs/everyone/|title=Linear Algebra for Everyone|website=math.mit.edu|access-date=2021-01-11}}{{cite web|author=Stenger, Allen|date=May 10, 2022|url=https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/linear-algebra-for-everyone-0 |title=review of Linear Algebra for Everyone by Gilbert Strang|website=MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America (MAA) }}
- Linear Algebra and Learning from Data (2019){{Cite web|url=http://math.mit.edu/~gs/learningfromdata/|title=Linear Algebra and Learning from Data|website=math.mit.edu|access-date=2019-09-11}}
- Calculus (2017) [https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/res-18-001-calculus-online-textbook-spring-2005/pages/textbook/ Textbook | Calculus Online Textbook | Supplemental Resources]
- Introduction to Linear Algebra, Fifth Edition (2016){{cite web|author=Stenger, Allen|date=September 28, 2016|url=https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/introduction-to-linear-algebra-1 |title=review of Introduction to Linear Algebra, 5th edition by Gilbert Strang|website=MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America (MAA)}}{{cite web|author=Stenger, Allen|date=January 18, 2011|title=review of Introduction to Linear Algebra, 4th edition, by Gilbert Strange|website=MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of American (MAA)|url=https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/introduction-to-linear-algebra}}
- Differential Equations and Linear Algebra (2014) [http://math.mit.edu/dela/ Differential Equations and Linear Algebra - New Book Website]
- Essays in Linear Algebra (2012)
- Algorithms for Global Positioning, with Kai Borre (2012)
- An Analysis of the Finite Element Method, with George Fix (2008)
- Computational Science and Engineering (2007)
- Linear Algebra and Its Applications, Fourth Edition (2005){{cite web|author=Stenger, Allen|date=December 28, 2021|url=https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/linear-algebra-and-its-applications-0 |title=review of Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 4th edition by Gilbert Strang|website=MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America (MAA)}}
- Linear Algebra, Geodesy, and GPS, with Kai Borre (1997)
- Wavelets and Filter Banks, with Truong Nguyen (1996)
- {{cite book|last=Strang|first=Gilbert|title=Introduction to Applied Mathematics|publisher=Wellesley-Cambridge Press |location=Wellesley, MA|year=1986|pages=xii+758|mr=870634}}
See also
- The Joint spectral radius, introduced by Strang and Rota in the early 60s.
- Strang splitting
References
{{reflist|refs=
| last = Roselle |first = D. P. |author-link = David Roselle
| title = Award of the 1977 Chauvenet Prize to Professor Gilbert Strang
| journal = The American Mathematical Monthly|year = 1977|volume = 84|issue = 6
|access-date= |page = 417
| citeseerx = 10.1.1.119.4043 |jstor=2321898|doi = 10.1080/00029890.1977.11994378 }}
| title = MIT announces Professor Gilbert Strang as the first MathWorks Professor of Mathematics
| date = 26 September 2011
| url = http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/mathworks-chair-strang.html
| publisher = MIT News
| location = Cambridge, MA
| access-date = September 26, 2011
}}
}}
External links
- {{official|http://www-math.mit.edu/~gs/}}
- {{MathGenealogy |id=13383}}
- Wellesley Cambridge Press (USA) [http://www.wellesleycambridge.com/ www.wellesleycambridge.com/]
- Wellesley Publishers (India) [http://www.wellesleypublishers.com/ www.wellesleypublishers.com/]
{{Chauvenet Prize recipients}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strang, Gilbert}}
Category:20th-century American mathematicians
Category:21st-century American mathematicians
Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty
Category:American mathematics educators
Category:Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Category:American Rhodes Scholars
Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:Mathematicians from Chicago
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Category:Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Category:Presidents of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Category:Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences