Craig Tracy
Encyclopedia
Craig Arnold Tracy is an American mathematician, known for his contributions to mathematical physics
and probability theory
.
Born in United Kingdom
, he moved as infant to Missouri
where he grew up and
obtained a B.Sc. in physics
from University of Missouri
(1967).
He studied as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow
at the Stony Brook University where he obtained a Ph.D.
on the thesis entitled Spin-Spin Scale-Functions in the Ising and XY-Models (1973)
advised by Barry M. McCoy
,
in which (also jointly with Tai Tsun Wu
and Eytan Barouch) he studied Painlevé functions in exactly
solvable statistical mechanical models.
He then was on the faculty of Dartmouth College
(1978–84) before
joining University of California, Davis
(1984) where he is now
a distinguished professor. With Harold Widom
he worked on the asymptotic analysis of Toeplitz determinants and their various operator theoretic generalizations. This work gave them both the George Pólya and the Norbert Wiener prizes, and the Tracy–Widom distribution
is named after them.
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
and probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
.
Born in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, he moved as infant to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
where he grew up and
obtained a B.Sc. in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
(1967).
He studied as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow
at the Stony Brook University where he obtained a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
on the thesis entitled Spin-Spin Scale-Functions in the Ising and XY-Models (1973)
advised by Barry M. McCoy
Barry M. McCoy
Barry M. McCoy is an American physicist, known for his contributions to classical statistical mechanics, integrable models and conformal field theories.He earned a B.Sc. from California Institute of Technology ,and a Ph.D...
,
in which (also jointly with Tai Tsun Wu
Tai Tsun Wu
Tai Tsun Wu is an Chinese American physicist and applied physicist well known for his contributions to high-energy nuclear physics and statistical mechanics....
and Eytan Barouch) he studied Painlevé functions in exactly
solvable statistical mechanical models.
He then was on the faculty of Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
(1978–84) before
joining University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
(1984) where he is now
a distinguished professor. With Harold Widom
Harold Widom
Harold Widom is an American mathematician well known for his contributions to operator theory and random matrices. He was appointed to the Department of Mathematics at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1968 and became professor emeritus in 1994. ...
he worked on the asymptotic analysis of Toeplitz determinants and their various operator theoretic generalizations. This work gave them both the George Pólya and the Norbert Wiener prizes, and the Tracy–Widom distribution
Tracy–Widom distribution
The Tracy–Widom distribution, introduced by , is the probability distribution of the largest eigenvalue of a random hermitian matrix in the edge scaling limit. It also appears in the distribution of the length of the longest increasing subsequence of random permutations and in current fluctuations...
is named after them.
Awards
- Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, 1967–68.
- Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceJapan Society for the Promotion of ScienceThe is an independent administrative institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.-History:...
Fellowship 1991 - 2002 Pólya Prize (SIAM)Pólya Prize (SIAM)The Pólya Prize is a prize in mathematics, awarded by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. First given in 1969, the prize is named after Hungarian mathematician George Pólya...
shared with Harold WidomHarold WidomHarold Widom is an American mathematician well known for his contributions to operator theory and random matrices. He was appointed to the Department of Mathematics at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1968 and became professor emeritus in 1994. ... - Fellow American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
2006 - Norbert Wiener Prize 2007, shared with Harold WidomHarold WidomHarold Widom is an American mathematician well known for his contributions to operator theory and random matrices. He was appointed to the Department of Mathematics at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1968 and became professor emeritus in 1994. ...
.