Rudy Lee Horne (1968 – 2017) was an American mathematician and professor of mathematics at

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

. He worked on

dynamical system In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a Function (mathematics), function describes the time dependence of a Point (geometry), point in an ambient space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a ...

s, including

nonlinear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...

waves. He was the mathematics consultant for the film ''

Hidden Figures ''Hidden Figures'' is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction Hidden Figures (book), book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterl ...

''.

Early life and education

Horne grew up in the

south side of Chicago The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and we ...

. His father worked at

Sherwin-Williams Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Cleveland, Ohio–based company in the paint and coating manufacturing industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related p ...

. He graduated from Crete-Monee High School. He completed a double degree in mathematics and physics at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in 1991. He joined the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

for his postgraduate studies, earning a master's in physics in 1994 and in mathematics in 1996. He completed his doctorate, ''Collision induced timing jitter and four-wave mixing in wavelength division multiplexing soliton systems'', in 2001 which was supervised by

Mark J. Ablowitz Mark Jay Ablowitz (born June 5, 1945, New York) is a professor in the department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado. He was born in New York City. Education Ablowitz received his Bachelor of Science degree ...

. He was the first African American to graduate from the

Department of Applied Mathematics.

Career and research

After completing his PhD, Horne had a position at the

California State University, East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...

. before working as

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, with Chris Jones. Horne joined

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

in 2005. Horne joined

in 2010 and was promoted to associate professor of mathematics in 2015. He continued to study

four-wave mixing Four-wave mixing (FWM) is an intermodulation phenomenon in nonlinear optics, whereby interactions between two or three wavelengths produce two or one new wavelengths. It is similar to the third-order intercept point in electrical systems. Four-wave ...

. His work considered nonlinear optical phenomena. He uncovered effects in parity-time symmetric systems. Horne was recommended to serve as a mathematics consultant for

. He worked closely with

Theodore Melfi Theodore Melfi is an American filmmaker. His second film, ''St. Vincent'' starring Bill Murray, was released in 2014. In 2016, Melfi co-wrote, directed, and produced ''Hidden Figures'' with Allison Schroeder, for which he received Oscar nominati ...

ensured the actors knew how to pronounce "Euler's". He spent four months working with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. In particular, Horne worked with

Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in '' Baby Boy'' (2001). Sh ...

on the mathematics she required for her role as

Katherine Johnson Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. ...

. He taught the cast how to get excited by mathematics. His handwriting is on screen during a scene at the beginning of the film where

solves a quadratic equation. He appeared on the interview series ''In the Know.'' Horne completed a

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

''Maths Fest'' tour where he discussed the mathematics in

, focusing on the calculations that concerned Glenn's orbit around in 1962. He appeared on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's Closer Look. He died on December 11, 2017 after surgery for a torn

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...

. The

established a Rudy Lee Horne Memorial Fellowship in his honour. He was described as a "rock star", inspiring generations of black students. He was awarded the

National Association of Mathematicians The National Association of Mathematicians is a professional association for mathematicians in the US, especially African Americans and other minorities. It was founded in 1969.

(NAM) lifetime achievement award posthumously in 2018, and was recognized by

Mathematically Gifted & Black Mathematically Gifted & Black (MGB) is a website that features the accomplishments of black scholars in mathematical sciences. In addition to highlighting the work and lives of established mathematicians in the African Diaspora, the platform aims ...

as a Black History Month 2018 Honoree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, Rudy African-American mathematicians 1968 births 2017 deaths American mathematicians Morehouse College faculty University of Colorado Boulder alumni Florida State University faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty University of Oklahoma alumni California State University, East Bay faculty 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people