mathematics

Jerry L. Bona

Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona rather than just read about it. In short: Jerry Lloyd Bona (born February 5, 1945) is an American mathematician, known for his work in fluid mechanics, partial differential equations, and computational mathematics, and active in some other branches of pure and applied mathematics. Bona received his PhD in 1971 from Harvard University under supervision of Garrett Birkhoff and worked from 1970 to 1972 at the Fluid Mechanics Research Institute University of Es…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Jerry Lloyd Bona (born February 5, 1945) is an American mathematician, known for his work in fluid mechanics, partial differential equations, and computational mathematics, and active in some other branches of pure and applied mathematics. Bona received his PhD in 1971 from Harvard University under supervision of Garrett Birkhoff and worked from 1970 to 1972 at the Fluid Mechanics Research Institute University of Essex, where along with Brooke Benjamin and J. J. Mahony, he published on Model Equations for Long Waves in Non-linear Dispersive Systems, known as Benjamin–Bona–Mahony equation. He is probably best known for his statement about equivalent statements of the Axiom of Choice: “The Axiom of Choice is obviously true, the Well–ordering theorem is obviously false; and who can tell about Zorn’s Lemma?" Jerry Bona has worked at University of Chicago, Pennsylvania State University, University of Texas at Austin and is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. In 2013 he became a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Quotes The Axiom of Choice is obviously true, the well-ordering principle obviously false, and who can tell about Zorn's lemma? This is a joke: although the three are all mathematically equivalent, many mathematicians find the axiom of choice to be intuitive, the well-ordering principle to be counterintuitive, and Zorn's lemma to be too complex for any intuition.

Selected publications with S. M. Sun and Bing-Yu Zhang: Bona, Jerry L.; Sun, S. M.; Zhang, Bing-Yu (2002). "A non-homogeneous boundary-value problem for the Korteweg-de Vries equation in a quarter plane". Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 354 (2): 427–490. doi:10.1090/s0002-9947-01-02885-9. MR 1862556.

See also Benjamin–Bona–Mahony equation

References

External links Jerry Bona Web-site at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jerry L. Bona

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona

In research: Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona 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: Jerry L. Bona is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1945 births, 20th-century American mathematicians, 21st-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Jerry L. Bona in simple terms?

Why does Jerry L. Bona 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 Jerry L. Bona?

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 Jerry L. Bona.