Ian Hugh Sloan
AO (born 17 June 1938, in Melbourne) is an Australian
applied mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
.
He was educated 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 no ...
(BSc 1958, BA (hons) 1960),
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
(MSc, 1961) and
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, where he was supervised by renowned mathematical physicist Sir
Harrie Massey
Sir Harrie Stewart Wilson Massey (16 May 1908 – 27 November 1983) was an Australian mathematical physicist who worked primarily in the fields of atomic and atmospheric physics.
A graduate of the University of Melbourne and Cambridge Unive ...
, and earned his PhD in 1964. He was a research scientist for the
Colonial Sugar Refining company 1964–5, and since 1965 has been at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
, where he has been Scientia Professor since 1999. He served as Head of the School of Mathematics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1993.
[Ian Sloan's web page](_blank)
maths.unsw.edu.au, retrieved 2012-05-11.
His early work was in theoretical
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
, but he moved to applied mathematics, especially
numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods ...
. Sloan has published more than 200 papers covering areas such as the numerical solution of
integral equations
In mathematics, integral equations are equations in which an unknown function appears under an integral sign. In mathematical notation, integral equations may thus be expressed as being of the form: f(x_1,x_2,x_3,...,x_n ; u(x_1,x_2,x_3,...,x_n) ...
,
numerical integration
In analysis, numerical integration comprises a broad family of algorithms for calculating the numerical value of a definite integral, and by extension, the term is also sometimes used to describe the numerical solution of differential equations ...
and interpolation, boundary integral equations,
approximation theory, multiple integration, continuous
complexity theory and other parts of numerical analysis and approximation theory. He has made important contributions to the theory of numerical integration in many dimensions, in recent years concentrating on
quasi-Monte Carlo method
In numerical analysis, the quasi-Monte Carlo method is a method for numerical integration and solving some other problems using low-discrepancy sequences (also called quasi-random sequences or sub-random sequences). This is in contrast to the regu ...
s.
After serving as vice-president and President elect 2017–2018, Sloan became President of the
Royal Society of New South Wales in 2018, taking over from
D. Brynn Hibbert.
Honours
* In 1990 he was elected a
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists.
Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...
* In 1997, he was awarded the
ANZIAM Medal of the
Australian Mathematical Society
The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...
.
* During 1998–2000, he was President of the
Australian Mathematical Society
The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...
.
* He was the 2001 winner of the
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...
's
Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal
The Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal is awarded at most every two years by the Australian Academy of Science to a mathematician or physicist for his or her outstanding research accomplishments. .
* Also in 2001, he was awarded the
Centenary Medal.
* In 2002, he shared the inaugural
George Szekeres Medal of the
Australian Mathematical Society
The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...
with
Alf van der Poorten of
Macquarie University.
* During 2003–2007, he was President of the
International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
The International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) is an organisation for professional applied mathematics societies and related organisations. The current (2020) President is Ya-xiang Yuan.
History
Until 1999 the Council was ...
(ICIAM).
* In the June 2008
Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed an
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
* In 2012 he became a fellow 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, ...
.
* In 2014 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN).
Selected publications
*
[Reviews:]
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Ian Sloan homepage unsw.edu.au/maths
Personal web page web.maths.unsw.edu.au
*Bright Sparcs entry
*High-Energy Physics Literature Database
Sloan, Ian H.*Publication lis
1964–2007 web.maths.unsw.edu.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloan, Ian
1938 births
Mathematicians from Melbourne
University of Melbourne alumni
University of Adelaide alumni
Academic staff of the University of New South Wales
Alumni of University College London
Alumni of the University of London
Living people
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Officers of the Order of Australia
Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales