astronomy

William J. LeVeque

William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque rather than just read about it. In short: William Judson LeVeque (August 9, 1923 – December 1, 2007) was an American mathematician and administrator who worked primarily in number theory. He was executive director of the American Mathematical Society during the 1970s and 1980s when that organization was growing rapidly and greatly increasing its use of computers in academic publishing.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

William Judson LeVeque (August 9, 1923 – December 1, 2007) was an American mathematician and administrator who worked primarily in number theory. He was executive director of the American Mathematical Society during the 1970s and 1980s when that organization was growing rapidly and greatly increasing its use of computers in academic publishing.

Life and education LeVeque was born August 9, 1923, in Boulder, Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1944, and a master's degree in 1945 and a Ph.D. in 1947 from Cornell University. He was an instructor at Harvard University from 1947 to 1949, then started at University of Michigan as an instructor and rose to professor. In 1970 he moved to the Claremont Graduate School. In 1977 he became executive director of the American Mathematical Society and remained there until his retirement in 1988. After retirement LeVeque and his wife, Ann, took up sailing and lived on their sailboat for three years while they traveled from Narragansett Bay to Grenada. They then moved to Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he kept active in volunteer activities for the rest of his life. He died December 1, 2007. His son Randall J. LeVeque is a well known applied mathematician.

Work LeVeque's research interest was number theory, specifically transcendental numbers, uniform distribution, and Diophantine approximation. He wrote a number of number theory textbooks and reference books, which influenced the development of number theory in the United States. A long-term project was to update Leonard Eugene Dickson's History of the Theory of Numbers. This project eventually produced a six-volume collection titled Reviews in Number Theory. The Special Libraries Association's Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics Division awarded LeVeque its Division Award in 1978 for his contributions to the bibliography of mathematics. The American Mathematical Society grew rapidly during LeVeque's time as executive director (1977–1988). Revenues tripled from $5 million in 1977 to $14.9 million in 1988. The Society began computerizing at a rapid rate during this period, with Mathematical Reviews first becoming available electronically through existing academic dial-up services; this system later evolved into MathSciNet. Most of the headquarters staff received computer terminals for use in the new operations.

Selected publications LeVeque, William J. (2002) [1956]. Topics in Number Theory, Volumes I and II. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-42539-9. Leveque, William J. (1990) [1962]. Elementary Theory of Numbers. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-66348-7. LeVeque, William J., ed. (1969). Studies in number theory. Mathematical Association of America. OCLC 17369. LeVeque, William J., ed. (1974). Reviews in number theory, as printed in Mathematical reviews, 1940 through 1972, volumes 1-44 inclusive. American Mathematical Society. OCLC 948152. (6 volumes) Leveque, William J. (1996) [1977]. Fundamentals of Number Theory. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-68906-7.

Further reading LeVeque, William J. (July–August 1988). "The AMS—Then, Now, and Soon" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 35 (6): 785–789. Retrieved 2009-01-01. A retrospective by LeVeque of his work at the American Mathematical Society.

Notes

External links William J. LeVeque at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William J. LeVeque

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque

In research: William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque 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: William J. LeVeque is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1923 births, 2007 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is William J. LeVeque in simple terms?

Why does William J. LeVeque 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 William J. LeVeque?

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 William J. LeVeque.