Joseph Bishop Keller (July 31, 1923 – September 7, 2016) was an American
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, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
who specialized in
applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...
. He was best known for his work on the "geometrical theory of diffraction" (GTD).
Early life and education
Born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Eastside High School, where he was a member of the math team. After earning his undergraduate degree in 1943 at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, Keller obtained his PhD in 1948 from NYU under the supervision of
Richard Courant
Richard Courant (January 8, 1888 – January 27, 1972) was a German American mathematician. He is best known by the general public for the book '' What is Mathematics?'', co-written with Herbert Robbins. His research focused on the areas of r ...
. He was a Professor of Mathematics in the Courant Institute at New York University until 1979. Then he was Professor of Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
until 1993, when he became
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 ...
.
Research
Keller worked on the application of mathematics to problems in science and engineering, such as
wave propagation
Wave propagation is any of the ways in which waves travel. Single wave propagation can be calculated by 2nd order wave equation ( standing wavefield) or 1st order one-way wave equation.
With respect to the direction of the oscillation relative ...
eigenvalues
In linear algebra, an eigenvector () or characteristic vector of a linear transformation is a nonzero vector that changes at most by a scalar factor when that linear transformation is applied to it. The corresponding eigenvalue, often denote ...
in
quantum mechanical
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...
systems.
Awards and honors
Keller was awarded a Lester R. Ford Award (shared with David W. McLaughlin) in 1976 and (not shared) in 1977. In 1988 he was awarded the U.S.
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
, and in 1997 he was awarded the
Wolf Prize
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for ''"achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nati ...
by the Israel-based
Wolf Foundation
The Wolf Foundation is a private not-for-profit organization in Israel established in 1975 by Ricardo Wolf, a German-born Jewish Cuban inventor and former Cuban ambassador to Israel.
Ricardo Wolf
Ricardo Wolf, the founder of the Wolf Foundat ...
. In 1996, he was awarded the
Nemmers Prize in Mathematics
The Frederic Esser Nemmers Prize in Mathematics is awarded biennially from Northwestern University. It was initially endowed along with a companion prize, the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics, as part of a $14 million donation from the Nemme ...
. In 1999 he was awarded the
Ig Nobel Prize
The Ig Nobel Prize ( ) is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name o ...
for calculating how to make a teapot spout that does not drip. With Patrick B. Warren, Robin C. Ball and Raymond E. Goldstein, Keller was awarded an
Ig Nobel Prize
The Ig Nobel Prize ( ) is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name o ...
in 2012 for calculating the forces that shape and move ponytail hair.
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, meeting ...
.
Personal life
Keller's second wife,
Alice S. Whittemore
Alice Segers Whittemore is an American epidemiologist and biostatistician who studies the effects of genetics and lifestyle on cancer, after an earlier career as a pure mathematician studying group theory. She works as a professor of health researc ...
, started her career as a pure mathematician but shifted her interests to
epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evi ...
and
biostatistics
Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...
.
Keller had a brother who was also a mathematician, Herbert B. Keller, who studied numerical analysis,
scientific computing
Computational science, also known as scientific computing or scientific computation (SC), is a field in mathematics that uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and solve complex problems. It is an area of science that spans many disc ...
computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate ...
. Herbert Keller was a 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 ...
. Both brothers contributed to the fields of
electromagnetics
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...
and
fluid dynamics
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...
. Joseph Keller died in
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
on September 7, 2016 from a recurrence of kidney cancer first diagnosed in 2003.
Major publications
* J.B. Keller. ''On solutions of Δu=f(u).'' Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 10 (1957), 503–510.
* Edward W. Larsen and Joseph B. Keller. ''Asymptotic solution of neutron transport problems for small mean free paths.'' J. Mathematical Phys. 15 (1974), 75–81.
* Joseph B. Keller and Dan Givoli. ''Exact nonreflecting boundary conditions.'' J. Comput. Phys. 82 (1989), no. 1, 172–192.
* Jacob Rubinstein, Peter Sternberg, and Joseph B. Keller. ''Fast reaction, slow diffusion, and curve shortening.'' SIAM J. Appl. Math. 49 (1989), no. 1, 116–133.
* Marcus J. Grote and Joseph B. Keller. ''On nonreflecting boundary conditions.'' J. Comput. Phys. 122 (1995), no. 2, 231–243.
* Leonid Ryzhik, George Papanicolaou, and Joseph B. Keller. ''Transport equations for elastic and other waves in random media.'' Wave Motion 24 (1996), no. 4, 327–370.