Glen Earl Baxter (March 19, 1930 – March 30, 1983) was an American mathematician.
Baxter's fields of research include
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 ...
,
combinatorial analysis
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many app ...
,
statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic be ...
and
functional analysis
Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (e.g. Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics)#Defini ...
. He is known for the
Baxter strong limit theorem. Lately, his 1960 work on the derivation of a specific operator identity that later bore his name, the
Rota–Baxter identity, and emanated from some of the fundamental results of the famous probabilist
Frank Spitzer
Frank Ludvig Spitzer (July 24, 1926 – February 1, 1992) was an Austrian-born American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to probability theory, including the theory of random walks, fluctuation theory, percolation theory, the W ...
in
random walk theory has received attention in fields as remote as
renormalization theory in perturbative
quantum field theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...
.
In 1983 the Glen E. Baxter Memorial Fund was established by family and friends at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
.
[Purdue University (Department of Statistics): ]
Recipients of the Baxter Award
'
See also
*
Baxter permutation
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Glen E
1930 births
1983 deaths
20th-century American mathematicians