mathematics

Robyn Owens

Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens rather than just read about it. In short: Robyn Anne Owens is an Australian applied mathematician and computer scientist known for her research in computer vision and face recognition, and on the non-invasive imaging of lactation. Formerly a professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the deputy vice-chancellor for research at UWA, she retired in 2019, and remains affiliated with UWA as a professorial fellow.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Robyn Anne Owens is an Australian applied mathematician and computer scientist known for her research in computer vision and face recognition, and on the non-invasive imaging of lactation. Formerly a professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the deputy vice-chancellor for research at UWA, she retired in 2019, and remains affiliated with UWA as a professorial fellow.

Education and career Owens earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics (with honours) at the University of Western Australia and a doctorate in mathematics at the Somerville College, Oxford. Her 1980 dissertation, Almost Periodic Hardy Spaces, was supervised by David Albert Edwards. She returned to the University of Western Australia after postdoctoral study at Paris-Sud University. Before becoming vice-chancellor for research, she headed the UWA School of Computer Science & Software Engineering.

Recognition With her co-author Peter E. Hartmann, she was a winner of the 2010 Rank Prize in Nutrition, given at the Royal College of Physicians in London, for their work on the imaging of lactation. Owens is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (elected 2012),a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (elected 2020), and a Fellow of the International Core Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In the 2023 King's Birthday Honours Owens was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to science in the fields of computer vision and mathematics".

References

External links Robyn Owens publications indexed by Google Scholar Audio interview with Owens, Women in Research

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robyn Owens

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens

In research: Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens 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: Robyn Owens is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of the University of Western Australia, Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford, Australian computer scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Robyn Owens in simple terms?

Why does Robyn Owens 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 Robyn Owens?

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 Robyn Owens.