astronomy

Trevor Evans (mathematician)

Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician) rather than just read about it. In short: Trevor Evans (1925–1991) was a mathematician specializing in abstract algebra, finite geometry, and the word problem. Originally British, he worked for many years in the US.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Trevor Evans (1925–1991) was a mathematician specializing in abstract algebra, finite geometry, and the word problem. Originally British, he worked for many years in the US.

Early life and education Evans was born on December 22, 1925, in Wolverhampton. He read mathematics at the University of Oxford, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1946. After a 1948 master's degree from the University of Manchester, he returned to Oxford for a master's degree in 1950 and a doctorate (D.Sc.) in 1960. His doctorate was granted based on 12 previous publications rather than on a dissertation; it was jointly advised by Graham Higman and Philip Hall.

Career and later life From 1946 to 1950, Evans was an assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester. He moved to the US in 1950. After becoming an instructor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1950, he took a faculty position at Emory University in 1951. He remained at Emory for the rest of his career, despite several other visiting positions: he joined the Institute for Advanced Study in 1952, and became a research associate at the University of Chicago in 1953. Later he visited the University of Nebraska, the California Institute of Technology, and the Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany. He headed the mathematics department at Emory from 1963 until 1978, and was given the Fuller E. Callaway Professorship of Mathematics in 1980. His notable students included Etta Zuber Falconer, who completed her doctorate under his supervision in 1969.

Awards Emory University gave Evans their 1972 Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate Education. He was also a recipient of the distinguished service award of the Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America. An undergraduate award, the Trevor Evans Award, is given in memory of Evans by the Emory University Department of Mathematics. Another award with the same name, the Trevor Evans Award, is given annually by the Mathematical Association of America for an outstanding publication in its undergraduate mathematics magazine, Math Horizons.

Selected publications

Research articles Evans, Trevor (1951), "On multiplicative systems defined by generators and relations, I: Normal form theorems", Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 47: 637–649, doi:10.1017/S0305004100027092, MR 0043764 Evans, Trevor (1960), "Embedding incomplete latin squares", American Mathematical Monthly, 67 (10): 958–961, doi:10.2307/2309221, JSTOR 2309221, MR 0122728 Evans, Trevor (1969), "Some connections between residual finiteness, finite embeddability and the word problem", Journal of the London Mathematical Society, Second Series, 1: 399–403, doi:10.1112/jlms/s2-1.1.399, MR 0249344 Evans, Trevor (1971), "The lattice of semigroup varieties", Semigroup Forum, 2 (1): 1–43, doi:10.1007/BF02572269, MR 0284528

Surveys Evans, Trevor (1978), "Word problems", Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 84 (5): 789–802, doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1978-14516-9, MR 0498063

Books Evans, Trevor (1959), Fundamentals Of Mathematics, Prentice-Hall Lindner, Charles C.; Evans, Trevor (1977), Finite embedding theorems for partial designs and algebras, Séminaire de Mathématiques Supérieures [Seminar on Higher Mathematics], vol. 56, Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, MR 0460213

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trevor Evans (mathematician)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician)

In research: Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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: Trevor Evans (mathematician) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1925 births, 1991 deaths, Academics from Wolverhampton, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician) in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Trevor Evans (mathematician) in simple terms?

Trevor Evans (1925–1991) was a mathematician specializing in abstract algebra, finite geometry, and the word problem. Originally British, he worked for many years in the US.

Why does Trevor Evans (mathematician) 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 Trevor Evans (mathematician)?

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 Trevor Evans (mathematician).