Gilbert Strang

Gilbert Strang
Strang in 2021
Born (1934-11-27) November 27, 1934 (age 91)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Balliol College, Oxford (BA, MA)
University of California, Los Angeles (PhD)
AwardsChauvenet Prize (1977)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
WorkplacesMassachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisDifference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems (1959)
Peter K. Henrici
Doctoral students

William Gilbert "Gil" Strang (born November 27, 1934) 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. He taught Linear Algebra, Computational Science and Engineering, and Learning from Data. His lectures are freely available on MIT OpenCourseWare.

Strang popularized the designation of the Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra as such.

Biography

Gilbert 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 the University of Oxford, where he received his B.A. and M.A. from Balliol College in 1957.

Strang earned his Ph.D. from UCLA 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".

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. They describe themselves as a very close-knit family. He retired on May 15, 2023 after giving his final linear algebra lecture at MIT.

Strang's teaching has focused on linear algebra which has helped the subject become essential for students of many majors. His 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.

Professor Strang's video lectures at MIT are open to everyone. They are watched worldwide (more than 20 million viewers). They include 3 popular courses and the final lecture in 2023.

Math 18.06 (Linear Algebra) & Math 18.06SC (with several problems solved by TAs)

Math 18.065 (Linear Algebra and Learning from Data) leading to deep learning and basic AI

Math 18.085 (Computational Science and Engineering)

University positions

Strang demonstrates the Hadamard conjecture at MIT, 2005

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) (ISBN 978-1-7331466-7-8)
  2. Linear Algebra for Everyone (2020)(ISBN 978-1-7331466-3-0)
  3. Linear Algebra and Learning from Data (2019)(ISBN 978-0-692-19638-0,ISBN 978-1-7331466-2-3)
  4. Calculus (2017) Textbook | Calculus Online Textbook | Supplemental Resources
  5. Introduction to Linear Algebra, Fifth Edition (2016)
  6. Differential Equations and Linear Algebra (2014)
  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. 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. September 26, 2011.
  3. ↑ Lu, Jun (2021). "Revisit the Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra". arXiv:2108.04432 [cs.LG].
  4. ↑ "Fundamental Theorem of Linear Algebra". Wolfram MathWorld. Wolfram Research, Inc. May 29, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Profile". math.mit.edu. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  6. ↑ Strang, William Gilbert (1959). Difference Methods for Mixed Boundary Value Problems (PhD thesis). University of California, Los Angeles. ProQuest 301900319.
  7. ↑ Gil Strang's Final Linear Algebra Lecture, May 15, 2023
  8. ↑ "Gilbert Strang's final lecture at MIT".
  9. ↑ "Gilbert Strang".
  10. ↑ List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
  11. ↑ Strang, Gilbert (November 1, 1973). "Piecewise polynomials and the finite element method". Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. 79 (6): 1128–1138. doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1973-13351-8. ISSN 0002-9904.
  12. ↑ Edelman, Alan; Strang, Gilbert (2004). "Pascal matrices". Amer. Math. Monthly. 111 (3): 189–197. doi:10.2307/4145127. JSTOR 4145127. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Recipients of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics; Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024.
  14. ↑ Irwin Sizer Award, retrieved 2020-05-25.
  15. ↑ "Leadership | SIAM". www.siam.org. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  16. ↑ Stenger, Allen (April 16, 2023). "review of Introduction to Linear Algebra, 6th edition by Gilbert Strang". MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America.
  17. ↑ "Linear Algebra for Everyone". math.mit.edu. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  18. ↑ Stenger, Allen (May 10, 2022). "review of Linear Algebra for Everyone by Gilbert Strang". MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America.
  19. ↑ "Linear Algebra and Learning from Data". math.mit.edu. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  20. ↑ Borchers, Brian (May 28, 2019). "review of "Linear Algebra and Learning from Data" by Gilbert Strang". MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America.
  21. ↑ Stenger, Allen (September 28, 2016). "review of Introduction to Linear Algebra, 5th edition by Gilbert Strang". MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
  22. ↑ Stenger, Allen (January 18, 2011). "review of Introduction to Linear Algebra, 4th edition, by Gilbert Strang". MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of American.
  23. ↑ "Differential Equations and Linear Algebra, website".
  24. ↑ Stenger, Allen (December 28, 2021). "review of Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 4th edition by Gilbert Strang". MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America.