mathematics

Marvin Knopp

Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp rather than just read about it. In short: Marvin Isadore Knopp (January 4, 1933 – December 24, 2011) was an American mathematician who worked primarily in number theory. He made notable contributions to the theory of modular forms.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Marvin Isadore Knopp (January 4, 1933 – December 24, 2011) was an American mathematician who worked primarily in number theory. He made notable contributions to the theory of modular forms.

Life and education Knopp was born on January 4, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. He received his PhD under Paul T. Bateman from the University of Illinois in 1958 where he became friends with fellow student Gene Golub. Over the course of his career, he advised twenty Ph.D. students. He is the father of pianist Seth Knopp, and of Yehudah, Abby, and Elana. Marvin was married to Josephine Zadovsky Knopp for 25 years. Knopp died on December 24, 2011, during a vacation in Florida with his partner of 30 years and common law wife Phyllis Zemble. Marvin found happiness from his children, old movies, great music and numbers. During the 6 years following his death, his papers and books were organized (with the help of Wladimer Pribitkin), his photographs and his mathematical correspondence, were donated to the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM). On AIM's website, you can find 131 of Knopp's reprints.

Personal life Knopp was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1933. He was an Ashkenazi Jew.

Career After receiving his PhD in 1958, Knopp taught at the University of Wisconsin and then, for a few years, at the University of Illinois Chicago before moving, in 1976, to Temple University where he stayed until his sudden death in 2011. Knopp was a leading expert in the theory of modular forms and a pioneering figure in the theory of Eichler cohomology, modular integrals and generalized modular forms. He was closely associated with Emil Grosswald. In Jean Dieudonné's influential book A Panorama of Pure Mathematics (Academic Press, 1982), he is mentioned (p. 95) as one of those who "made substantial contributions" to the theory of modular forms.

Selected publications Knopp, Marvin (1970). Modular Functions in Analytic Number Theory. Rand McNally. ISBN 0-528-60000-1. Knopp, Marvin; Berndt, Bruce (2008). Hecke's Theory of Modular Forms and Dirichlet Series. World Scientific Publishing Co. ISBN 978-9812706355.

Further reading Knopp, Marvin; Sheingorn, Mark, eds. (1993). A Tribute to Emil Grosswald. Providence: American Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-0-8218-5155-5. Retrieved 2009-02-06. A set of papers in honor of Grosswald; includes reminiscences, list of PhD students, and a list of papers and books. Temple Tribute

References

External links Marvin Knopp at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

American Institute of Mathematics reprints by Marvin Knopp https://aimath.org/cgi-bin/library.cgi?database=reprints;mode=display;BrowseTitle=Knopp, Marvin

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Marvin Knopp

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp

In research: Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp 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: Marvin Knopp is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 births, 2011 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Marvin Knopp in simple terms?

Marvin Isadore Knopp (January 4, 1933 – December 24, 2011) was an American mathematician who worked primarily in number theory. He made notable contributions to the theory of modular forms.

Why does Marvin Knopp 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 Marvin Knopp?

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 Marvin Knopp.