Albert Turner Bharucha-Reid (November 13, 1927 February 26, 1985) was an American mathematician and theorist who worked extensively on

probability theory Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set o ...

Markov chain A Markov chain or Markov process is a stochastic model describing a sequence of possible events in which the probability of each event depends only on the state attained in the previous event. Informally, this may be thought of as, "What happe ...

s, and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

. The author of more than 70 papers and 6 books, his work touched on such diverse fields as

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Life

Bharucha-Reid was born Albert Turner Reid, the son of William Thaddeus Reid and Mae Marie Beamon Reid of

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. He studied math and biology at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, where completed a BS in 1949. He continued his studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

from 1950 to 1953, where he began to focus more intensely on statistics and probability. He published eight papers during his time at the University of Chicago, but he did not finish his PhD dissertation because he felt it was a waste of time. In 1954, he married Rodabe Phiroze Bharucha, and he legally changed his name to Albert Turner Bharucha-Reid.Spangenburg, Ray, Kit Moser, and

Steven Otfinoski Steven Otfinoski is an author and playwright from Connecticut. Most of his books are aimed at young readers. He has written well in excess of 100 books. He is also the author of ''African Americans in the Performing Arts (A to Z of African Americ ...

(2012)
"Bharucha-Reid, Albert Turner."
''African-American History Online'' ubscription required Retrieved 2012-11-25. He had two children, Kurush Feroze Bharucha-Reid, and Rustam William Bharucha-Reid.

Work

Bharucha-Reid published his first paper, a work on mathematical biology, when he was only 18 years old.Williams, Scott W. (2008
"Mathematicians of the African Diaspora: Albert Turner Bharucha-Reid"
The Mathematics Department of the State University of New York at Buffalo. Retrieved 2012-11-25. He went on to teach and lecture in the United States, Europe, and India. He held professorships or research positions at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

, and

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founde ...

. In particular, in 1970 he was appointed Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at

Legacy

A lecture series has been named in his honor by the

National Association of Mathematicians The National Association of Mathematicians is a professional association for mathematicians in the US, especially African Americans and other minorities. It was founded in 1969.

Selected publications

Bharucha-Reid is the author or coauthor of: *''Elements of the Theory of Markov Processes and Their Application'' (McGraw Hill, 1960; Dover, 1997) *''Random Integral Equations'' (Academic Press, 1972) *''Random Polynomials'' (with M. Sambandham, Academic Press, 1986) He is also the editor of: *''Probabilistic Methods in Applied Mathematics'' (edited, Academic Press, Vol. I, 1968; Vol. II, 1970)Review of ''Probabilistic Methods in Applied Mathematics'': J. Pickands, *''Probabilistic Analysis and Related Topics'' (edited, Academic Press, Vol. I, 1978; Vol. II, 1979; Vol. III, 1983) *''Approximate Solution of Random Equations'' (North-Holland, 1979)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharucha-Reid, Albert Turner 1927 births 1985 deaths African-American mathematicians African-American scientists 20th-century American mathematicians American statisticians Clark Atlanta University faculty Iowa State University alumni People from Hampton, Virginia Probability theorists University of Chicago alumni University of Oregon faculty Wayne State University faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Academics from Virginia Mathematicians from Virginia African-American statisticians 20th-century African-American people