mathematics

Margaret M. Robinson

Margaret M. Robinson 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 Margaret M. Robinson rather than just read about it. In short: Margaret Maher Robinson is an American mathematician specializing in number theory and the theory of zeta functions. She was the Julia and Sarah Ann Adams Professor of Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College and is now Professor Emerita of Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Margaret Maher Robinson is an American mathematician specializing in number theory and the theory of zeta functions. She was the Julia and Sarah Ann Adams Professor of Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College and is now Professor Emerita of Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College.

Education and career Robinson graduated from Bowdoin College in 1979, and earned her Ph.D. in 1986 from Johns Hopkins University. Her dissertation, On the Complex Powers Associated with the Twisted Cases of the Determinant and the Pfaffian, was supervised by Jun-Ichi Igusa. She taught briefly at Hampshire College before joining the Mount Holyoke faculty.

Recognition In 2013 she was one of the winners of the Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. Her award citation credited her undergraduate mentorship through Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and her intensive summer programs for young women in number theory. In 2020, she was the recipient of the M. Gweneth Humphreys Award, given by the Association for Women in Mathematics. The award states that Robinson "has been a mainstay of thoughtful teaching and mentoring for many years at Mount Holyoke College, an institution whose mission is to educate women. Her focus is not just on the top students, but on making a meaningful (and joyful) mathematical intervention for all the generations of learners that have crossed her path." Robinson was selected as a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics in the class of 2024 "for her support and empowerment of several generations of women in mathematics; for her mentoring within the Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference and the Carleton Summer Math Program; and for seeing the spark in each individual under her guidance and supporting them in the fulfillment of rewarding careers in mathematics."

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Margaret M. Robinson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Margaret M. Robinson 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 Margaret M. Robinson 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 Margaret M. Robinson 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 Margaret M. Robinson

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Margaret M. Robinson in simple terms?

Why does Margaret M. Robinson 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 Margaret M. Robinson?

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 Margaret M. Robinson.