Marvin Marcus

{{Short description|American mathematician}}

Marvin David Marcus (July 31, 1927, Albuquerque, New Mexico{{cite journal|author=Grone, Robert|title=A biography of Marvin Marcus|journal=Linear Algebra and Its Applications|date=April 1994|volume=201|issue=4|pages=1–20|doi=10.1016/0024-3795(94)90100-7|doi-access=free}} – February 20, 2016, Santa Barbara, California) was an American mathematician, known as a leading expert on linear and multilinear algebra.{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03081087.2016.1245274 |title=Marvin Marcus – the Man and His Legacy |date=2017 |last1=Merris |first1=Russell |journal=Linear and Multilinear Algebra |volume=65 |issue=10 |pages=1927–1933 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjDi3FERIacC | title=Basic Theorems in Matrix Theory | last1=Marcus | first1=Marvin | date=1960 |series=National Bureau of Standards Applied Math Series, no. 57|publisher=Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|lccn=60060468|postscript=; 27 pages; reprinted with addenda and errata in 1964}}

Education and career

From 1944 to 1946, Marvin Marcus served in the United States Navy.{{cite news|title=Obituary. Martin David Marcus|newspaper=Santa Barbara News-Press|date=March 2016|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newspress/name/marvin-marcus-obituary?id=16315982}} At the University of California, Berkeley, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1950 and a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1953. His Ph.D. thesis The application of fixed-point theorems to the perturbation of ordinary differential equations was supervised by Stephen P. L. Diliberto.{{MathGenealogy|id=16939|name=Marvin Marcus}}{{cite web|title=In memoriam: Stephen P.L. Diliberto|website=Berkeley Department of Mathematics, U.C. Berkeley|url=https://math.berkeley.edu/people/past-department-members/memoriam/stephen-pl-diliberto}}

At the University of British Columbia (UBC), Marcus was an instructor from 1954 to 1955, an assistant professor from 1955 to 1956, and an associate professor from 1957 to 1962. At UBC he became a friend of Henryk Minc and supervised the master's thesis of Robert Charles Thompson. For the academic year 1956–1957 Marcus was on sabbatical in Washington, D.C. at the National Bureau of Standards, where he worked with Morris Newman (1924–2007).{{cite web|title=Profile: Morris Newman|website=Digital Library of Mathematical Functions, National Institute of Standards and Technology|url=https://dlmf.nist.gov/about/bio/MNewman}} At the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), he was a full professor from 1962 to 1991, when he retired as professor emeritus. He chaired UCSB's mathematics department from 1963 and 1969 and created what gained an international reputation as the "Santa Barbara School of Linear Algebra". While chairing the department, he hired Henryk Minc, Robert Charles Thompson, and Ky Fan and brought many distinguished visiting mathematicians: Hans Heilbronn, Marshall Hall, Magnus Hestenes, Alan J. Hoffman, H. J. Ryser, Hans Schneider, Olga Taussky-Todd, John "Jack" Todd, and Hans Zassenhaus, as well as the then unknown Richard A. Brualdi. At UCSB, Marcus held an appointment in the mathematics department from 1962 to 1983, joint appointments in both the mathematics and computer science departments from 1983 to 1987, and an appointment solely in the computer science department from 1987 to 1991. He founded UCSB's Microcomputer Laboratory in 1979.

During the years 1963 to 1969, UCSB mathematicians did significant research on such topics as monotone matrix functions in the sense of Charles Loewner, linear operators on symmetry classes of tensors, and immanants and other generalized matrix functions. At UCSB Marcus established the semiautonomous Institute for Interdisciplinary Applications of Algebra and Combinatorics, which he directed from 1973 to 1979. Marcus was one of the founding editors of the journal Linear Algebra and Its Applications. With Robert Charles Thompson, he was the co-founder of the journal Linear and Multilinear Algebra, whose first issue was published in 1973.{{cite web|title=Linear and Multilinear Algebra|website=Taylor & Francis Online|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/glma20}} He was the section editor for linear algebra in Addison-Wesley's series Encyclopedia of mathematics and its applications.{{cite book|chapter=Section Editor Foreword by Marvin Marcus|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnT2LCvciqUC&pg=PR13 |pages=xiii–xv |title=Permanents |series=Encyclopedia of mathematics and its applications, vol. 6 |isbn=978-0-521-30226-5 | last1=Minc | first1=Henryk | date=28 December 1984 | publisher=Cambridge University Press }}

According to Marcus's former doctoral student Robert Grone, Marcus did pioneering, fundamental research in "numerical ranges, matrix inequalities, linear preservers and multilinear algebra".{{cite journal|author=Li, Chi-Kwong|author2=Pierce, Stephen|title=Linear preserver problems|journal=American Mathematical Monthly|volume=108|pages=591–605|year=2001|issue=7 |doi=10.2307/2695268|jstor=2695268 |url=https://people.wm.edu/~cklixx/lpp.pdf}} Marcus was the author or co-author of more than 200 articles and problem solutions and more than 20 books. His three most important books might be Finite Dimensional Multilinear Algebra, Part I (1973, Marcel Dekker), Finite Dimensional Multilinear Algebra, Part II (1975, Marcel Dekker), and A Survey of Matrix Theory and Matrix Inequalities (1st edition 1964; reprint 1969; Dover reprint 1992).{{cite book|author=Merris, Russell|title=Multilinear Algebra|publisher=CRC Press|year=1997|series=Algebra, Logic and Applications Series, vol. 8|page=viii|isbn=978-1-4987-1490-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OU5ZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR8}}

In 1966, Marcus and Minc received the Mathematical Association of America's Lester R. Ford Award for their 1965 article Permanents.{{cite web|title=Permanents by Marvin Marcus and Henryk Minc|website=Mathematical Association of American (MAA)|url=https://maa.org/programs/maa-awards/writing-awards/permanents}}{{cite journal|author=Marcus, Marvin|author2=Minc, Henryk|title=Permanents|journal=American Mathematical Monthly|volume=72|issue=6|year=1965|pages=577–591|doi=10.1080/00029890.1965.11970575}}

Personal life

In 1951 in California, Marvin Marcus married Arlen Ingrid Sahlman (1923–2005). They became the parents of a son and a daughter, but later divorced. Marvin Marcus was predeceased by his second wife — there were no children from his second marriage. He enjoyed playing tennis and reading about science and narratives written by travelers.

Selected publications

=Articles=

  • {{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-mathematics/article/linear-transformations-on-algebras-of-matrices/732742504BB86D9E38834774A7496B94 |doi=10.4153/CJM-1959-008-0 |title=Linear Transformations on Algebras of Matrices |date=1959 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Moyls |first2=B. N. |journal=Canadian Journal of Mathematics |volume=11 |pages=61–66 }}
  • {{cite journal|author=Marcus, M.|author2=Moyls, B.N.|year=1959|title=Transformations on tensor product spaces|journal=Pacific Journal of Mathematics|volume=9|issue=4|pages=1215–1221|doi=10.2140/pjm.1959.9.1215 |url=https://msp.org/pjm/1959/9-4/pjm-v9-n4-s.pdf#page=265}}
  • {{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-mathematics/article/linear-transformations-on-algebras-of-matrices-the-invariance-of-the-elementary-symmetric-functions/720CF1EABB8DDBE7EF24D4CEDB56C42F |doi=10.4153/CJM-1959-039-4 |title=Linear Transformations on Algebras of Matrices: The Invariance of the Elementary Symmetric Functions |date=1959 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Purves |first2=Roger |journal=Canadian Journal of Mathematics |volume=11 |pages=383–396 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1215/S0012-7094-59-02606-7 |title=On the minimum of the permanent of a doubly stochastic matrix |date=1959 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Newman |first2=Morris |journal=Duke Mathematical Journal |volume=26 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.2140/pjm.1962.12.627 |title=The sum of the elements of the powers of a matrix |date=1962 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Newman |first2=Morris |journal=Pacific Journal of Mathematics |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=627–635 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00029890.1962.11989991 |title=Linear Operations on Matrices |date=1962 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |journal=The American Mathematical Monthly |volume=69 |issue=9 |pages=837–847 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1090/S0002-9904-1963-10975-1 |title=The permanent analogue of the Hadamard determinant theorem |date=1963 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=494–497 }}
  • {{cite journal|title=The Hadamard theorem for permanents|journal=Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society|year=1964|volume=15|issue=6|pages=967–973|author=Marcus, M.|author2=Minc, H.|doi=10.1090/S0002-9939-1964-0168585-9 |url=https://community.ams.org/journals/proc/1964-015-06/S0002-9939-1964-0168585-9/S0002-9939-1964-0168585-9.pdf}}
  • {{cite journal|author=Marcus, M.|author2=Minc, H.|title=Generalized matrix functions|journal=Transactions of the American Mathematical Society|year=1965|volume=116|pages=316–329|doi=10.1090/S0002-9947-1965-0194445-9 |url=https://community.ams.org/journals/tran/1965-116-00/S0002-9947-1965-0194445-9/S0002-9947-1965-0194445-9.pdf}}
  • {{cite journal|jstor=24890537 |title=Derivations, Plücker Relations, and the Numerical Range |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |journal=Indiana University Mathematics Journal |date=1973 |volume=22 |issue=12 |pages=1137–1149 |doi=10.1512/iumj.1973.22.22094 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0021-8693(77)90218-6 |title=Isometries of matrix algebras |date=1977 |last1=Grone |first1=Robert |last2=Marcus |first2=Marvin |journal=Journal of Algebra |volume=47 |pages=180–189 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1007/BF01538033 |title=Constrained extrema of bilinear functionals |date=1977 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Andresen |first2=Patricia |journal=Monatshefte for Mathematik |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=219–235 |s2cid=120690556 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03081088008817319 |title=Linear groups defined by decomposable tensor equalities |date=1980 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Chollet |first2=John |journal=Linear and Multilinear Algebra |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=207–212 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03081088408817601 |title=Products of elementary doubly stochastic matrices |date=1984 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Kidman |first2=Kent |last3=Sandy |first3=Markus |journal=Linear and Multilinear Algebra |volume=15 |issue=3–4 |pages=331–340 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0024-3795(85)90249-6 |title=Conditions for the generalized numerical range to be real |date=1985 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Sandy |first2=Markus |journal=Linear Algebra and Its Applications |volume=71 |pages=219–239 |doi-access=free }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03081088608817710 |title=Construction of orthonormal bases in higher symmetry classes of tensors |date=1986 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Chollet |first2=John |journal=Linear and Multilinear Algebra |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=133–140 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03081088708817748 |title=Computer generated numerical ranges and some resulting theorems |date=1987 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Pesce |first2=Claire |journal=Linear and Multilinear Algebra |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=121–157 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/03081088908817944 |title=A note on the determinants and eigenvalues of distance matrices |date=1989 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |last2=Smith |first2=Terence R. |journal=Linear and Multilinear Algebra |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=219–230 }}
  • {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/07468342.1990.11973297 |title=Determinants of Sums |date=1990 |last1=Marcus |first1=Marvin |journal=The College Mathematics Journal |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=130–135 }}

=Books=

  • {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEcaDQAAQBAJ | title=A Survey of Matrix Theory and Matrix Inequalities | isbn=978-0-486-67102-4 | last1=Marcus | first1=Marvin | last2=Minc | first2=Henryk | date=January 1992 | publisher=Courier Corporation |lccn=91039704}} {{cite book|title=1st edition|publisher=Prindle, Weber & Schmidt|location=Boston|year=1964|lccn=64014269}}{{cite web|author=Hassani, Mehdi|date=October 6, 2011|title=review of A Survey of Matrix Theory and Matrix Inequalities by Marvin Marcus and Henryk Minc|website=MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America|url=https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/a-survey-of-matrix-theory-and-matrix-inequalities}} {{cite book|title=reprint|publisher=Prindle, Weber & Schmidt|year=1969}}
  • {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPiJpOazMskC | title=A Survey of Finite Mathematics | isbn=978-0-486-67553-4 | last1=Marcus | first1=Marvin | date=January 1993 | publisher=Courier Corporation |postscript=; 1st edition 1969 }}
  • {{cite book|author=Marcus, Marvin|title=Finite Dimensional Multilinear Algebra, Part I|publisher=Marcel Dekker|location=New York|year=1973|postscript=; 292 pages}}
  • {{cite book|author=Marcus, Marvin|title=Finite Dimensional Multilinear Algebra, Part II|publisher=Marcel Dekker|location=New York|year=1975|postscript=; 718 pages}}

References