Murray Harold Protter (February 13, 1918 – May 1, 2008) was an American mathematician and educator, known for his contributions to the theory of

partial differential equations In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which imposes relations between the various partial derivatives of a multivariable function. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" to be solved for, similarly to ...

, as well as his well-selling textbooks in

Calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

. Protter earned a

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1937) and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

on a thesis entitled "''Generalized Spherical Harmonics''" advised by Lipman Bers (1946). During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

era, he studied the aeroelasticity and

flutter Flutter may refer to: Technology * Aeroelastic flutter, a rapid self-feeding motion, potentially destructive, that is excited by aerodynamic forces in aircraft and bridges * Flutter (American company), a gesture recognition technology company acqu ...

of military air planes at the

Vought Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Ai ...

aircraft company in

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Stratford is in the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled ...

(1943–45). Since his graduation, he worked as assistant professor at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

(1947–51), was a researcher at

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

(1951–53) and at

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

(1953–88) where he also was the chairman (1962–65). He also was the Miller Research Professor (1959, 1967) and executive director of the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science (1981–83). He was the father of operations researcher Philip Protter. Protter developed ''self-paced'' learning of mathematics. For

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

he was a long-time member (1941–) serving as

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

(1968–72) and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the book review column.

Students

* Amy Cohen-Corwin

Books

*''Calculus with Analytic Geometry: A first Course'' (1964). With

Charles B. Morrey, Jr. Charles Bradfield Morrey Jr. (July 23, 1907 – April 29, 1984) was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the calculus of variations and the theory of partial differential equations. Life Charles Bradfield Morrey Jr. ...

*''Intermediate Calculus'' (1971, 1985). With Charles B. Morrey, Jr. *''A First Course in Real Analysis'' (1976, 1991). With Charles B. Morrey, Jr. *''Basic Elements of Real Analysis'' (1998). *''Maximum Principles in Differential Equations'' (1967, 1999). With

Hans Weinberger Hans F. Weinberger (September 27, 1928 in Vienna - September 15, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina) was an Austrian-American mathematician, known for his contributions to variational methods for eigenvalue problems, partial differential equations, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Protter, Murray 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians University of Michigan alumni Brown University alumni Syracuse University faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Educators from Brooklyn 1918 births 2008 deaths Mathematicians from New York (state)