Gilbert Strang

William Gilbert Strang (born November 27, 1934[1]) is an American mathematician known for his contributions to finite element theory, the calculus of variations, wavelet analysis and linear algebra. He has made many contributions to mathematics education, including publishing mathematics textbooks. Strang was the MathWorks Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2] He taught Linear Algebra, Computational Science, and Engineering, Learning from Data, and his lectures are freely available through MIT OpenCourseWare.

W. Gilbert Strang
Strang in 2021
Born (1934-11-27) November 27, 1934
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Balliol College, Oxford (BA, MA)
University of California, Los Angeles (PhD)
AwardsChauvenet Prize (1977)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisDifference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems (1959)
Doctoral advisorPeter K. Henrici
Doctoral students

Biography

Strang was born in Chicago in 1934. His parents William and Mary Catherine Strang migrated to the USA from Scotland. He and his sister Vivian grew up in Washington DC and Cincinnati, and went to high school at Principia in St. Louis.

Strang graduated from MIT in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. He then received a Rhodes Scholarship to University of Oxford, where he received his B.A. and M.A. from Balliol College in 1957.

Strang earned his Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles in 1959 as a National Science Foundation Fellow, under the supervision of Peter K. Henrici. His dissertation was titled "Difference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems".[3]

While at Oxford, Strang met his future wife Jillian Shannon, and they married in 1958. Following his Ph.D. at UCLA, they have lived in Wellesley, Massachusetts for almost all of his 62 years on the MIT faculty. The Strangs have three sons David, John, and Robert and describe themselves as a very close-knit family. He retired on May 15, 2023 after giving his final Linear Algebra and Learning from Data[4] lecture at MIT.[5]

Strang's teaching has focused on linear algebra which has helped the subject become essential for students of many majors. His linear algebra video lectures are popular on YouTube and MIT OpenCourseware. Strang founded Wellesley-Cambridge Press to publish Introduction to Linear Algebra (now in 6th edition) and ten other books.

University Positions

Following his PhD studies, from 1959 to 1961, Strang was a C. L. E. Moore instructor at M.I.T. in the Mathematics department. From 1961-1962 he was a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University. From 1962 until 2023, Strang was a mathematics professor at MIT.[6]

He has received Honorary Titles and Fellowships from the following institutes:

Awards

Service

Publications

Books and monographs
  1. Introduction to Linear Algebra, Sixth Edition, Wellesley-Cambridge Press (2023), Introduction to Linear Algebra
  2. Linear Algebra for Everyone (2020)[14]
  3. Linear Algebra and Learning from Data (2019)[15]
  4. Calculus (2017) Textbook | Calculus Online Textbook | Supplemental Resources
  5. Introduction to Linear Algebra, Fifth Edition (2016)
  6. Differential Equations and Linear Algebra (2014) Differential Equations and Linear Algebra - New Book Website
  7. Essays in Linear Algebra (2012)
  8. Algorithms for Global Positioning, with Kai Borre (2012)
  9. An Analysis of the Finite Element Method, with George Fix (2008)
  10. Computational Science and Engineering (2007)
  11. Linear Algebra and Its Applications, Fourth Edition (2005)
  12. Linear Algebra, Geodesy, and GPS, with Kai Borre (1997)
  13. Wavelets and Filter Banks, with Truong Nguyen (1996)
  14. Strang, Gilbert (1986). Introduction to Applied Mathematics. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley-Cambridge Press. pp. xii+758. MR 0870634.

See also

References
  1. Roselle, D. P. (1977). "Award of the 1977 Chauvenet Prize to Professor Gilbert Strang". The American Mathematical Monthly. 84 (6): 417. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.119.4043. doi:10.1080/00029890.1977.11994378. JSTOR 2321898.
  2. "MIT announces Professor Gilbert Strang as the first MathWorks Professor of Mathematics". Cambridge, MA: MIT News. 26 September 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  3. Strang, William Gilbert (1959). Difference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems (PhD thesis). University of California, Los Angeles. ProQuest 301900319.
  4. "18.065 Matrix Methods in Data Analysis & Signal Processing". math.mit.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  5. Gil Strang's Final 18.06 Linear Algebra Lecture, retrieved 2023-05-15
  6. "Gil Strang's Final 18.06 Linear Algebra Lecture" – via www.youtube.com.
  7. "Fellows Program | SIAM". www.siam.org.
  8. List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2013-08-05.
  9. Strang, Gilbert (1973-11-01). "Piecewise polynomials and the finite element method". Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. American Mathematical Society (AMS). 79 (6): 1128–1138. doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1973-13351-8. ISSN 0002-9904.
  10. Edelman, Alan; Strang, Gilbert (2004). "Pascal matrices". Amer. Math. Monthly. 111 (3): 189–197. doi:10.2307/4145127. JSTOR 4145127.
  11. "Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award".
  12. Irwin Sizer Award, retrieved 2020-05-25.
  13. "Leadership | SIAM". www.siam.org. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  14. "Linear Algebra for Everyone". math.mit.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  15. "Linear Algebra and Learning from Data". math.mit.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
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