mathematics

R. Keith Dennis

R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis rather than just read about it. In short: Roger Keith Dennis (March 10, 1944 – December 12, 2024), known as R. Keith Dennis or Keith Dennis, was an American mathematician who worked in algebraic K-theory and group theory.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Roger Keith Dennis (March 10, 1944 – December 12, 2024), known as R. Keith Dennis or Keith Dennis, was an American mathematician who worked in algebraic K-theory and group theory. His career was spent as a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Cornell University. Dennis was the executive editor of Mathematical Reviews as it transitioned from a printed resource to a mainly-digital one.

Early life and career Dennis was born in Vernon, Texas, on March 10, 1944, and grew up on a farm 8 miles north of Quanah, Texas. He graduated from Quanah High School in 1962, and attended Rice University, earning his bachelor's in 1966 and his doctorate in 1970. His thesis on "Presentation for the Elementary Group and the Functor K 2 {\displaystyle K_{2}} " was done under Stephen M. Gersten. He spent the academic year 1970–1971 at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton as the first assistant of John Milnor. In 1971, Dennis joined the Department of Mathematics at Cornell University, and he was promoted to full professor in 1981. From 1987 to 1993 he served as the department chair. He retired to emeritus status in 2019. From January 1995 through June 1998, Dennis was the executive editor of the American Mathematical Society’s Mathematical Reviews. During this period Mathematical Reviews designed and began the development of MathSciNet which went online in January 1996. He was on the Board of Advisors of the American Institute of Mathematics since its inception. In 2013, Dennis was in the inaugural class of fellows of the American Mathematical Society.

Personal life and death Dennis had four children. He died of metastatic prostate cancer on December 12, 2024, at the age of 80.

Books 1982 (editor) Algebraic K-Theory. Proceedings of a Conference Held at Oberwolfach, June 1980, Part 1 and Part 2. (Springer) 1993 (with Benson Farb) Noncommutative Algebra (Springer, Graduate Texts in Mathematics Book 144), August 20, 1993, ISBN 978-0-387-94057-1

References

External links Personal website Roger Keith Dennis at zbMATH R. Keith Dennis at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with R. Keith Dennis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis

In research: R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis 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: R. Keith Dennis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1944 births, 2024 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is R. Keith Dennis in simple terms?

Roger Keith Dennis (March 10, 1944 – December 12, 2024), known as R. Keith Dennis or Keith Dennis, was an American mathematician who worked in algebraic K-theory and group theory.

Why does R. Keith Dennis 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 R. Keith Dennis?

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 R. Keith Dennis.