Joseph Miller Thomas

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Joseph Miller Thomas (born January 16, 1898 in Ridley Park , Pennsylvania , † January 8, 1979 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania) was an American mathematician who mainly dealt with differential geometry and algebra .

Joseph Thomas received his doctorate from Frederick Wahn Beal at the University of Pennsylvania in 1923 ( Congruences of Circles, Studied with reference to the Surface of Centers ). He became an assistant professor in 1930 and a professor at Duke University in 1935 . In 1936/37 he was at the Institute for Advanced Study with Oswald Veblen , with whom he had already published in 1925 on the projective geometry of paths.

He dealt mainly with the algebraic theory of systems of partial differential equations on manifolds like Pfaff systems. The Thomas decomposition of polynomial systems of partial differential equations (and inequalities) is named after him. Further areas of work were conformal invariants and algebraic theory of equations. In addition, like Oswald Veblen, he dealt with ballistics .

He was one of the founders of the Duke Mathematical Journal in 1935 and its Managing Editor until 1944 . In 1937/38 he was on the council of the American Mathematical Society and in 1945/46 its vice-president. He was a member of the French Mathematical Society.

Fonts

  • Differential Systems, American Mathematical Society Colloquium Publications, 1937
  • Elementary mathematics in artillery fire, McGraw Hill 1942
  • Systems and roots, William Byrd Press 1962
  • A primer on roots, William Byrd Press 1974
  • Theory of Equations, McGraw Hill 1938
  • with Oswald Veblen: Projective invariants of affine geometry of paths. Annals of Mathematics, Volume 27, 1926, pp. 279-329
  • An existence theorem for generalized pfaffian systems, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc., Vol. 40, 1934, pp. 309-315

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Life data in JC Poggendorff biographical-literary concise dictionary 1987 with life data
  2. ↑ Year and place of birth as well as a short biography also in the membership book Institute Advanced Study 1980. There he is described as deceased.
  3. ↑ Joseph Miller Thomas in the Mathematics Genealogy Project (English)Template: MathGenealogyProject / Maintenance / id used
  4. ^ Robertz, Formal Algorithmic Elimination for PDEs, Springer 2014. p. 58
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Joseph Miller
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Ridley Park , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 1979
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania