mathematics

Karin Erdmann

Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann rather than just read about it. In short: Karin Erdmann (born 1948) is a German mathematician specializing in the areas of algebra known as representation theory (especially modular representation theory) and homological algebra (especially Hochschild cohomology). She is notable for her work in modular representation theory which has been cited over 1500 times according to the Mathematical Reviews.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Karin Erdmann (born 1948) is a German mathematician specializing in the areas of algebra known as representation theory (especially modular representation theory) and homological algebra (especially Hochschild cohomology). She is notable for her work in modular representation theory which has been cited over 1500 times according to the Mathematical Reviews. Her nephew Martin Erdmann is professor for experimental particle physics at the RWTH Aachen University.

Education She attended the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen and wrote her Ph.D. thesis on "2-Hauptblöcke von Gruppen mit Dieder-Gruppen als 2-Sylow-Gruppen" (Principal 2-blocks of groups with dihedral Sylow 2-subgroups) in 1976 under the direction of Gerhard O. Michler.

Professional career Erdmann was a Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford. Erdmann is a university lecturer emeritus at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford where she has had 25 doctoral students and 45 descendants. She has published over 115 papers and her work has been cited over 2000 times. She has contributed to the understanding of the representation theory of the symmetric group.

Honors Erdmann was the inaugural Emmy Noether Lecturer of the German Mathematical Society in 2008.

Selected bibliography Erdmann, Karin; Wildon, Mark J. (2006), Introduction to Lie algebras, Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series, London: Springer-Verlag London Ltd., doi:10.1007/1-84628-490-2, ISBN 978-1-84628-040-5, MR 2218355 Erdmann, Karin (1990), Blocks of Tame Representation Type and Related Algebras, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol. 1428, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, doi:10.1007/BFb0084003, ISBN 978-3-540-52709-1, MR 1064107

References

External links Mathematical Reviews author profile Home page at Oxford

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Karin Erdmann

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann

In research: Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann 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: Karin Erdmann is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, 20th-century German mathematicians, 21st-century German mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Karin Erdmann in simple terms?

Why does Karin Erdmann 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 Karin Erdmann?

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 Karin Erdmann.