Eric Michael Rains (born 23 August 1973) is an

American mathematician This is a list of American mathematicians. List * James Waddell Alexander II (1888–1971) * Stephanie B. Alexander, elected in 2014 as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society "for contributions to geometry, for high-quality exposition, an ...

specializing in

coding theory Coding theory is the study of the properties of codes and their respective fitness for specific applications. Codes are used for data compression, cryptography, error detection and correction, data transmission and data storage. Codes are stud ...

and

special functions Special functions are particular mathematical functions that have more or less established names and notations due to their importance in mathematical analysis, functional analysis, geometry, physics, or other applications. The term is defined by ...

, especially applications from and to noncommutative algebraic geometry.

Biography

Eric Rains was 14 when he began classes in 1987. He left

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

with bachelor's degrees in computer science and physics and a master's degree in mathematics at age 17. By means of a

Churchill Scholarship The Churchill Scholarship is awarded by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States to graduates of the more than one hundred colleges and universities invited to participate in the Churchill Scholarship Program, for the pursuit of rese ...

he studied mathematics and physics at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

for the academic year 1991–1992, receiving a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics. He received his PhD in 1995 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

with thesis ''Topics in Probability on Compact Lie Groups'' under the supervision of

Persi Diaconis Persi Warren Diaconis (; born January 31, 1945) is an American mathematician of Greek descent and former professional magician. He is the Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and Mathematics at Stanford University. He is particularly known f ...

. From 1995 to 1996, Rains worked at the

IDA Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

Center for Communications Research Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

(CCR) in Princeton. From 1996 to 2002 he was a researcher for

AT&T Labs AT&T Labs is the research & development division of AT&T, the telecommunications company. It employs some 1,800 people in various locations, including: Bedminster NJ; Middletown, NJ; Manhattan, NY; Warrenville, IL; Austin, TX; Dallas, TX; Atlan ...

. From 2002 to 2003 he returned to the CCR in Princeton. In 2003, Rains became a full professor at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

and since 2007 has been a full professor at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

where he currently works. He has served as the Executive Officer of the Caltech Mathematics Department from 2019 to 2022. In the fall of 2006 he was a visiting professor at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. He is the co-author with Gabriele Nebe and Neil J. A. Sloane of the 2006 book ''Self-Dual Codes and Invariant Theory''. In 2007, Rains was a plenary speaker at the Western Sectional meeting of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

(AMS). In 2010 he was an invited speaker at the

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the Nevanlinna Prize (to be rename ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the AMS in the class of 2018 for "contributions to coding theory, the theory of random matrices, the study of special functions, non-commutative geometry and number theory".

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rains, Eric M. 1973 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Case Western Reserve University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Harvard University alumni AT&T people Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Combinatorialists Mathematical analysts Probability theorists