mathematics

Nilanjana Datta

Nilanjana Datta 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 Nilanjana Datta rather than just read about it. In short: Nilanjana Datta is an Indian-born British mathematician. She is a Professor in Quantum Information Theory in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Pembroke College.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Nilanjana Datta is an Indian-born British mathematician. She is a Professor in Quantum Information Theory in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Pembroke College. Born in the Indian state of West Bengal, Datta graduated from Jadavpur University with a Master of Science and did a Post-MSc at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics. In 1995 she obtained a PhD from ETH Zürich under the supervision of Jürg Fröhlich and Rudolf Morf, working on quantum statistical mechanics and the Quantum Hall effect. She then held postdoctoral positions at the CNRS Marseille, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, the University of Strathclyde, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. In 2001 she became an affiliated lecturer of the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Pembroke College. After moving to Cambridge, Datta focused her research on the field of quantum information theory, contributing to topics such as quantum state transfer, memory effects in quantum information theory, and one-shot quantum information theory. Her collaborators include Artur Ekert, Jürg Fröhlich, Alexander Holevo, Richard Jozsa, Mary Beth Ruskai, Mark Wilde, and Andreas Winter. Datta is the founder of the Beyond i.i.d. in Information Theory Conferences series, which started in January 2013 in Cambridge, UK and has continued on an annual basis since then. The main goal of the conference, in which Datta has played a central role, is to bring together the various research communities working on quantum Shannon theory, quantum resource theories, classical information theory, and mathematical physics related to entropies and information, in order to encourage the exchange of research and foster collaborations.

References

External links Women of Mathematics: an exhibition of portraits (University of Cambridge)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nilanjana Datta

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nilanjana Datta 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 Nilanjana Datta 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 Nilanjana Datta 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 Nilanjana Datta

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Nilanjana Datta in simple terms?

Why does Nilanjana Datta 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 Nilanjana Datta?

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 Nilanjana Datta.