astronomy

Nick Wormald

Nick Wormald is a astronomy 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 Nick Wormald rather than just read about it. In short: Nicholas Charles Wormald (born 1953) is an Australian mathematician and professor of mathematics at Monash University. He specializes in probabilistic combinatorics, graph theory, graph algorithms, Steiner trees, web graphs, mine optimization, and other areas in combinatorics.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Nicholas Charles Wormald (born 1953) is an Australian mathematician and professor of mathematics at Monash University. He specializes in probabilistic combinatorics, graph theory, graph algorithms, Steiner trees, web graphs, mine optimization, and other areas in combinatorics. In 1979, Wormald earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Newcastle with a dissertation titled Some problems in the enumeration of labelled graphs. In 2006, he won the Euler Medal from the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications. He has held the Canada Research Chair in Combinatorics and Optimization at the University of Waterloo. In 2012, he was recognized with an Australian Laureate Fellowship for his achievements. In 2017, he was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In 2018, Wormald was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janeiro.

Selected publications Nicholas C. Wormald (1999). "Models of random regular graphs" (PDF). London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series. Cambridge University Press: 239–298. Peter Eades; Nicholas C. Wormald (1994). "Edge crossings in drawings of bipartite graphs". Algorithmica. 11 (4). Springer: 379–403. doi:10.1007/BF01187020. S2CID 22476033. Nicholas C. Wormald (1995). "Differential equations for random processes and random graphs". Annals of Applied Probability. 5 (4). JSTOR: 1217–1235. doi:10.1214/aoap/1177004612. Nicholas C Wormald (1999). "The differential equation method for random graph processes and greedy algorithms" (PDF). Lectures on Approximation and Randomized Algorithms. Citeseer: 73–155. Robert W. Robinson; Nicholas C. Wormald (1994). "Almost all regular graphs are Hamiltonian". Random Structures & Algorithms. 5 (2). Wiley Online Library: 363–374. doi:10.1002/rsa.3240050209. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013. Brendan D McKay; Nicholas C Wormald (1991). "Asymptotic enumeration by degree sequence of graphs with degrees o ( n ½ ) " (PDF). Combinatorica. 11 (4). Springer: 369–382. doi:10.1007/bf01275671. S2CID 9228526. Angelika Steger; Nicholas C. Wormald (1999). "Generating random regular graphs quickly". Combinatorics, Probability and Computing. 8 (4). Cambridge Univ Press: 377–396. doi:10.1017/S0963548399003867. S2CID 14545326. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013. Nicholas C. Wormald (1981). "The asymptotic connectivity of labelled regular graphs". Journal of Combinatorial Theory. Series B. 31 (2). Elsevier: 156–167. doi:10.1016/S0095-8956(81)80021-4.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nick Wormald

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nick Wormald claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 Nick Wormald 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 Nick Wormald 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 Nick Wormald

In research: Nick Wormald appears in astronomy 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 Nick Wormald 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: Nick Wormald is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1953 births, Academic staff of the University of Waterloo, Australian mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nick Wormald 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 Nick Wormald in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Nick Wormald in simple terms?

Why does Nick Wormald matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 Nick Wormald?

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 Nick Wormald.