Michael (Mike) Charles Reed is an American mathematician known for his contributions to

mathematical physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The '' Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developm ...

and

mathematical biology Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of the living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development a ...

. Reed first attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree. In 1969 he earned a PhD from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

. Since 1977 he has taught at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

, where he is the Bishop-MacDermott Professor of Mathematics. To clarify the mathematics supporting the theories of

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...

, he joined with

Barry Simon Barry Martin Simon (born 16 April 1946) is an American mathematical physicist and was the IBM professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Caltech, known for his prolific contributions in spectral theory, functional analysis, and no ...

to publish ''Methods of Modern Mathematical Physics'' in four volumes during the 1970s. In a review, William Faris wrote :The value of the Reed and Simon volumes is that they provide a bridge between abstract functional analysis and concrete problems of physics. There are no other books with the same scope... The Reed and Simon series is the one place where the recent discoveries of mathematical physics are consolidated. Its volumes are for anyone who has encountered the frustration and fascination of quantum mechanics and wants to begin the serious task of learning the mathematics behind it. Subsequently, Reed has since worked predominantly in applications of

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (3 ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

. He has described some of the challenges of the field. A conference in 2007 ''Applications of Analysis to Mathematical Biology'' honored Prof. Reed's sixty-fifth birthday; Prof. Simon was among the invited speakers. In 2012 he became a fellow of the

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, meeting ...

''Methods of Modern Mathematical Physics''

Four volumes written with

and published by

Academic Press Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier. Academic Press publishes refer ...

: * 1972: Vol. I: ''Functional Analysis'' * 1975: Vol. II: ''Fourier Analysis, Self-Adjointness'' * 1978: Vol. III: ''Scattering Theory'' * 1977: Vol. IV: ''Analysis of Operators''

References

External links

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Michael C. 1942 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Yale University alumni Stanford University alumni Duke University faculty Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Mathematical physicists