mathematics

James Serrin

James Serrin 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 James Serrin rather than just read about it. In short: James Burton Serrin (1 November 1926 – 23 August 2012) was an American mathematician, and a professor at University of Minnesota. Life He graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1944.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

James Burton Serrin (1 November 1926 – 23 August 2012) was an American mathematician, and a professor at University of Minnesota.

Life He graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1944. He then studied engineering and science at Northwestern University in 1944 to 1946 before transferring Western Michigan College, where he a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947. He received his doctorate from Indiana University Bloomington in 1951 under the supervision of David Gilbarg. From 1954 till 1995, he was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota.

Work He is known for his contributions to continuum mechanics, nonlinear analysis, and partial differential equations.

Awards and honors He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1980.

Selected works Serrin, James (1959), "Mathematical principles of classical fluid mechanics", in Flügge, Siegfried; Truesdell, Clifford A. (eds.), Fluid Dynamics I/Strömungsmechanik I, Handbuch der Physik (Encyclopedia of Physics), vol. VIII/1, Berlin–Heidelberg–New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 125–263, Bibcode:1959HDP.....8..125S, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-45914-6_2, ISBN 978-3-642-45916-0, MR 0108116, Zbl 0102.40503 {{citation}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help). Serrin, James (1959b), "On the Uniqueness of Compressible Fluid Motions", Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis, 3 (1): 271–288, Bibcode:1959ArRMA...3..271S, doi:10.1007/BF00284180, ISSN 0003-9527, MR 0106646, S2CID 120478897, Zbl 0089.19103. Serrin, James (1963), "The initial Value problem for the Navier-Stokes equations", in Langer, Rudolph E. (ed.), Nonlinear problems. Proceedings of a symposium conducted by the Mathematics Research Center, United States Army, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, April 30-May 2, 1962., Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 69–98, hdl:2027/uc1.b3836930, MR 0150444, Zbl 0115.08502.

References

External links Donald G. Aronson and Hans F. Weinberger, "James B. Serrin", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2016)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Serrin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Serrin 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 James Serrin 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 James Serrin 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 James Serrin

In research: James Serrin 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 James Serrin 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: James Serrin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1926 births, 2012 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Serrin 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study James Serrin in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James Serrin 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 James Serrin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is James Serrin in simple terms?

James Burton Serrin (1 November 1926 – 23 August 2012) was an American mathematician, and a professor at University of Minnesota. Life He graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1944.

Why does James Serrin 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 James Serrin?

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 James Serrin.