mathematics

Gilbert Strang

Gilbert Strang is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gilbert Strang rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Gilbert Strang belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gilbert Strang to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gilbert Strang from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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

PhD student, UCLA (1957–1959) C. L. E. Moore instructor, MIT (1959–1961) NATO Postdoctoral Fellow, Oxford University (1961–1962) Mathematics faculty, MIT (1962–2023, as a full professor from 1970) He has received honorary titles and fellowships from the following institutes:

Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1966–1967) Honorary Professor, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (1980) Honorary Fellow, Balliol College, Oxford University (1999) Honorary Member, Irish Mathematical Society (2002) Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (2009) Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Toulouse (2010) Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (2012) Doctor Honoris Causa, Aalborg University (2013)

Awards Rhodes Scholar (1955) National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1957) Chauvenet Prize, Mathematical Association of America (1977) American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1985) Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (2003) Lester R. Ford Award (2005) Von Neumann Medal, US Association for Computational Mechanics (2005) Deborah and Franklin Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics (2007) Su Buchin Prize, International Congress (ICIAM, 2007) Henrici Prize (2007) National Academy of Sciences (2009) Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education (2020)

Service President, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (1999, 2000) Chair, U.S. National Committee on Mathematics (2003–2004) Chair, National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory Panel on Mathematics Board Member, International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) Abel Prize Committee (2003–2005)

Publications

Books and monographs Introduction to Linear Algebra, Sixth Edition, Wellesley-Cambridge Press (2023) (ISBN 978-1-7331466-7-8) Linear Algebra for Everyone (2020)(ISBN 978-1-7331466-3-0) Linear Algebra and Learning from Data (2019)(ISBN 978-0-692-19638-0,ISBN 978-1-7331466-2-3) Calculus (2017) Textbook | Calculus Online Textbook | Supplemental Resources Introduction to Linear Algebra, Fifth Edition (2016) Differential Equations and Linear Algebra (2014) Essays in Linear Algebra (2012) Algorithms for Global Positioning, with Kai Borre (2012) An Analysis of the Finite Element Method, with George Fix (2008) Computational Science and Engineering (2007) Linear Algebra and Its Applications, Fourth Edition (2005) Linear Algebra, Geodesy, and GPS, with Kai Borre (1997) Wavelets and Filter Banks, with Truong Nguyen (1996) Strang, Gilbert (1986). Introduction to Applied Mathematics. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley-Cambridge Press. pp. xii+758. MR 0870634.

See also The Joint spectral radius, introduced by Strang and Rota in the early 60s. Strang splitting

References

External links Media related to Gilbert Strang at Wikimedia Commons Official website Gilbert Strang at the Mathematics Genealogy Project Wellesley Cambridge Press (USA) www.wellesleycambridge.com/ Wellesley Publishers (India) www.wellesleypublishers.com/

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gilbert Strang

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gilbert Strang claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gilbert Strang before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gilbert Strang ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gilbert Strang

In research: Gilbert Strang appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gilbert Strang in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gilbert Strang is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1934 births, 20th-century American mathematicians, 21st-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gilbert Strang outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gilbert Strang in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gilbert Strang means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gilbert Strang out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gilbert Strang in simple terms?

Why does Gilbert Strang matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gilbert Strang?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gilbert Strang.