Bostonian Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 OK, I'm an odd (male) duck, but I find it interesting to read obituaries of scientists that summarize their life's work. Here are some recent ones. I will append to this thread when new ones appear. Paul Garabedian, Mathematician at N.Y.U., Dies at 82 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/science/05garabedian.html Paul R. Garabedian, a mathematician whose computer computations helped lead to fuel-efficient wings for modern jetliners ... Vladimir Arnold Dies at 72; Pioneering Mathematician http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/science/11arnold.html Vladimir I. Arnold, a Russian mathematician who discovered important theorems that found application in astronomy, mechanics and even weather forecasting ... David Blackwell, Scholar of Probability, Dies at 91 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/education/17blackwell.html David Blackwell, a statistician and mathematician who wrote groundbreaking papers on probability and game theory and was the first black scholar to be admitted to the National Academy of Sciences ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Thanks for the list! It is good to be reminded of the many accomplishments of those in the math and science fields! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostonian Posted October 17, 2010 Author Share Posted October 17, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/us/17mandelbrot.html Benoît Mandelbrot, Novel Mathematician, Dies at 85 By JASCHA HOFFMAN Benoît B. Mandelbrot, a maverick mathematician who developed an innovative theory of roughness and applied it to physics, biology, finance and many other fields, died on Thursday in Cambridge, Mass. He was 85. His death was caused by pancreatic cancer, his wife, Aliette, said. He had lived in Cambridge. Dr. Mandelbrot coined the term “fractal†to refer to a new class of mathematical shapes whose uneven contours could mimic the irregularities found in nature. “Applied mathematics had been concentrating for a century on phenomena which were smooth, but many things were not like that: the more you blew them up with a microscope the more complexity you found,†said David Mumford, a professor of mathematics at Brown University. “He was one of the primary people who realized these were legitimate objects of study.†In a seminal book, “The Fractal Geometry of Nature,†published in 1982, Dr. Mandelbrot defended mathematical objects that he said others had dismissed as “monstrous†and “pathological.†Using fractal geometry, he argued, the complex outlines of clouds and coastlines, once considered unmeasurable, could now “be approached in rigorous and vigorous quantitative fashion.†<rest of article at link> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Mandlebrot died! My son is studying fractals at school this year and has been telling us so many interesting things about them. http://news.uchicago.edu/news.php?asset_id=2064 http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/arnold.zellner/ (memorial today, Oct. 18) Arnold Zellner, economist and statistician, dies at 83 From the first link above: "Zellner was known for the breadth of his contributions to many different areas of econometrics. His pioneering work in systems of equations, Bayesian statistics and econometrics, or time series analysis would each have earned him worldwide recognition." He was my husband's advisor and friend while dh worked on his PhD at U of C. Zellner was as kind and enthusiastic as he was intelligent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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