Arthur T. Benjamin
Arthur Todd Benjamin (born March 19, 1961 in Cleveland , Ohio ) is an American mathematician who studies combinatorics and is also known as a magician.
Life
Benjamin graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics in 1983 and received his master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1985, where he received his PhD in 1989 under Alan J. Goldman ( Turnpike structures for optimal maneuvers ). In 1989 he became Assistant Professor, 1995 Associate Professor and 2000 Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College . From 2002 to 2004 he headed the mathematics faculty there.
In addition to work on combinatorics, he also published on mathematical card tricks and theoretical solid state physics (for example half-integer quantum Hall effect).
He worked at the Institute for Defense Analyzes (1989), for the National Security Agency (1987), at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center of IBM (as a student in 1982) and was visiting professor at Caltech (1995/96), the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Brandeis University and Oxford University .
From 2006 to 2008 he was a Polya Lecturer at the Mathematical Association of America .
For Graphs, Maneuvers and Turnpikes he received the George Nicholson Prize of the Operations Research Society of America in 1988. He is a fellow of the American Mathematical Society .
As a magician, he performs a math magic show, in which he demonstrates, among other things, fast mental arithmetic, fast determination of weekdays from calendar dates or memorizing large numbers. He has also published several books and films (for The Teaching Company) about it.
He is also a professional backgammon player. He won the American Backgammon Tour in 1997 and is ranked 10th in the all-time best list (March 2019).
Fonts
- Turnpike structures for optimal maneuvers , Scholarship @ Claremont, 1989 (English; dissertation; with a short résumé)
- with Michael B. Shermer Teach your child math , McGraw Hill 1991
- with Shermer Mathemagics: How to Look like a Genius Without Really Trying , McGraw Hill 1993, 1998
- with Jennifer J. Quinn Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof , MAA, Dolciani Series, 2003 (received the Beckenbach Prize)
- with Shermer Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks , Random House 2006 (new edition of Mathemagics )
- Editor with Ezra B. Brown Biscuits of Number Theory , MAA, Dolciani Series, 2009
literature
- Donald J. Albers, Gerald L. Alexanderson Fascinating Mathematical People: Interviews and Memoirs , Princeton University Press 2011
- Interview, Notices AMS, Volume 64, 2017, No. 1, pdf
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ An amazing mathematical card trick, Mathematical Intelligencer, 2010, No. 2, pp. 37-41
- ↑ Operations Research, Vol. 38, 1990, No. 2, pp. 202-216
- ↑ American Backgammon Tour 1997
- ^ Lifetime American Backgammon Tour Point Standings
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Benjamin, Arthur T. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Benjamin, Arthur Todd |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American mathematician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 19, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cleveland |