Edmund Frederick Robertson (born 1 June 1943) is a
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of
pure mathematics
Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, ...
at the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
.
Work
Robertson is one of the creators of the
MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive is a website maintained by John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson and hosted by the University of St Andrews in Scotland. It contains detailed biographies on many historical and contemporary mathemati ...
, along with John J. O'Connor. Robertson has written over 100 research articles, mainly on the theory of
groups
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
and
semigroups
In mathematics, a semigroup is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with an associative internal binary operation on it.
The binary operation of a semigroup is most often denoted multiplicatively: ''x''ยท''y'', or simply ''xy'', ...
. He is also the author or co-author of 17 textbooks.
[
Robertson obtained a ]Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree at the University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
in 1965. He then went to the University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...
, where he received a Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in 1966 and a Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
degree in 1968.
In 1998, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
.
In 2015, he received together with his colleague O'Connor, the Hirst Prize of the London Mathematical Society
The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is one of the United Kingdom's learned societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburgh Mathematical S ...
for his work on the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. His thesis on "Classes of Generalised Nilpotent Groups" was done with Stewart E. Stonehewer.
Personal life
He is with his wife, Helena, and his two sons.
Bibliography
* Algebra Through Practice: A Collection of Problems in Algebra with Solutions: Books 4-6 - with T.S.Blyth,
* Rings, Fields and Modules - with T.S.Blyth, 1985,
* Sets and mappings - with T.S.Blyth, 1986,
* Linear Algebra - with T.S.Blyth, 1986,
* Essential Student Algebra: Groups - with T.S.Blyth, 1986,
* Basic Linear Algebra - with T.S.Blyth, 1998,
* Colin MacLaurin (1698-1746): Argyllshire's Mathematician, 2000,
* Further Linear Algebra - with T.S.Blyth, 2002,
References
External links
*
Group theorists
20th-century Scottish mathematicians
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Academics of the University of St Andrews
1943 births
Living people
21st-century Scottish mathematicians
People from St Andrews
{{UK-mathematician-stub