What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences

What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences
Author: Barry Cipra
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 108
Release:
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780821890431

Mathematicians like to point out that mathematics is universal. In spite of this, most people continue to view it as either mundane (balancing a checkbook) or mysterious (cryptography). This fifth volume of the What's Happening series contradicts that view by showing that mathematics is indeed found everywhere-in science, art, history, and our everyday lives. Here is some of what you'll find in this volume: Mathematics and Science Mathematical biology: Mathematics was key tocracking the genetic code. Now, new mathematics is needed to understand the three-dimensional structure of the proteins produced from that code. Celestial mechanics and cosmology: New methods have revealed a multitude of solutions to the three-body problem. And other new work may answer one of cosmology'smost fundamental questions: What is the size and shape of the universe? Mathematics and Everyday Life Traffic jams: New models are helping researchers understand where traffic jams come from-and maybe what to do about them! Small worlds: Researchers have found a short distance from theory to applications in the study of small world networks. Elegance in Mathematics Beyond Fermat's Last Theorem: Number theorists are reaching higher ground after Wiles' astounding 1994 proof: new developments inthe elegant world of elliptic curves and modular functions. The Millennium Prize Problems: The Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a million dollars for solutions to seven important and difficult unsolved problems. These are just some of the topics of current interest that are covered in thislatest volume of What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences. The book has broad appeal for a wide spectrum of mathematicians and scientists, from high school students through advanced-level graduates and researchers.

Doeblin and Modern Probability

Doeblin and Modern Probability
Author: Harry Cohn
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 362
Release: 1993
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0821851497

Wolfgang Doeblin, one of the greatest probabilists of this century, died in action during World War II at the age of twenty-five. He left behind several seminal contributions which have profoundly influenced the field and continue to provide inspiration for current research. This book is based on papers presented at the conference, `Fifty Years after Doeblin: Developments in the Theory of Markov Chains, Markov Processes, and Sums of Random Variables', held at Blaubeuren, Germany, in November 1991. Presented here for the first time is an account of Doeblin's life and work, revealing the circumstances of his tragic death in 1940. Organized into sections according to topic, the papers describe both Doeblin's original contributions as well as current developments. With contributions by top probabilists from sixteen countries, this book will interest both researchers in probability and science historians.