mathematics

Leslie Greengard

Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard rather than just read about it. In short: Leslie Frederick Greengard (born 1957) is an American mathematician, physicist and computer scientist. He is co-inventor with Vladimir Rokhlin Jr. of the fast multipole method (FMM) in 1987, recognized as one of the top-ten algorithms of the 20th century.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Leslie Frederick Greengard (born 1957) is an American mathematician, physicist and computer scientist. He is co-inventor with Vladimir Rokhlin Jr. of the fast multipole method (FMM) in 1987, recognized as one of the top-ten algorithms of the 20th century. Greengard was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 for work on the development of algorithms and software for fast multipole methods.

Short biography Leslie Frederick Greengard was born in 1957 in London, England, but grew up in the United States in New York City, Boston, and New Haven. He holds a B.A. in mathematics from Wesleyan University (1979), an M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine (1987), and a Ph.D. in computer science from Yale University (1987). From 2006 to 2011, Greengard was director of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, an independent division of the New York University (NYU) and is currently a professor of mathematics and computer science at Courant. He is also a professor at New York University Tandon School of Engineering and the director of the Simons Center for Data Analysis. He formerly served as the Director at the Center for Computational Biology at the Flatiron Institute. As of October 2018, he has assumed the directorship of the new Center of Computational Mathematics at the Institute. He is the son of neuroscientist Paul Greengard and the nephew of Irene Kane, later known as Chris Chase, an actress, writer, and journalist.

Awards and honors 2016, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2014, Von Neumann Lecture, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 2011, Wilbur Cross Medal 2010, Plenary Speaker, SIAM Annual Meeting 2010, "National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship", from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) 2006, elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering 2006, elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences 2005, Plenary Speaker, 2nd National Congress on Applied and Industrial Mathematics (France) 2004, "Margaret and Herman Sokol Faculty Award in the Sciences" from the New York University 2001, Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research from the American Mathematical Society (together with Vladimir Rokhlin), for their paper describing a new algorithm: the fast multipole method (FMM) 2000, Plenary Speaker, SIAM Conference on Computational Science & Engineering 1999, Plenary Speaker, International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics 1998, Invited Speaker, International Congress of Mathematicians 1990, "Fellowship for Science and Engineering" from the Packard Foundation 1990, Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation 1987–1989, "Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship" from the National Science Foundation 1987, Council of Graduate Schools/University Microfilms International Distinguished Dissertation Award, for his PhD. dissertation "The Rapid Evaluation of Potential Fields in Particle Systems" 1987, "Doctoral Dissertation Award", Series Winner from the Association for Computing Machinery 1987, Sandoz Thesis Award from the Yale School of Medicine 1979–1986, Public Health Service – National Research Service Award Medical Scientist Training Program

References

External links Leslie Greengard at the Mathematics Genealogy Project "New York University - Leslie Greengard profile". nyu.edu. Retrieved March 11, 2011.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leslie Greengard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard

In research: Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard 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: Leslie Greengard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1957 births, 20th-century American mathematicians, 21st-century American Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Leslie Greengard in simple terms?

Why does Leslie Greengard 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 Leslie Greengard?

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 Leslie Greengard.