Edward James McShane (May 10, 1904 – June 1, 1989) was an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

noted for his advancements of the

calculus of variations The calculus of variations (or Variational Calculus) is a field of mathematical analysis that uses variations, which are small changes in functions and functionals, to find maxima and minima of functionals: mappings from a set of functions t ...

, integration theory,

stochastic calculus Stochastic calculus is a branch of mathematics that operates on stochastic processes. It allows a consistent theory of integration to be defined for integrals of stochastic processes with respect to stochastic processes. This field was created an ...

, and exterior

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and a ...

.National Academies Press:Biographical Memoirs:Edward James McShane,By Leonard D. Berkovitz and Wendell H. Fleming
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/ref> ttps://www.jstor.org/pss/987293 Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol 140, no. 4, Dec 1996, pp. 572–578/ref> His name is associated with the McShane–Whitney extension theorem and McShane integral. McShane was professor of mathematics at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, president 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, meetings, ...

, president of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

, a member of the

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...

and a member of both the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

Life and career

McShane was born and raised in New Orleans. He received his bachelor of engineering and Bachelor of Science degrees from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in 1925, following with a M.S. degree from Tulane in 1927. McShane received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He taught at the University of Virginia for 39 years until he retired in 1974. His doctoral students include

Victor Klee Victor LaRue Klee, Jr. (September 18, 1925 – August 17, 2007) was a mathematician specialising in convex sets, functional analysis, analysis of algorithms, optimization, and combinatorics. He spent almost his entire career at the University of ...

Billy James Pettis Billy James Pettis (1913 – 14 April 1979), was an American mathematician, known for his contributions to functional analysis. See also * Dunford–Pettis property * Dunford–Pettis theorem *Milman–Pettis theorem *Orlicz–Pettis theorem *Pet ...

, and David Lowdenslager, who collaborated with

Henry Helson Henry Berge Helson (June 2, 1927 – January 10, 2010) was an American mathematician at the University of California at Berkeley who worked on analysis. Education and career Helson received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1947. ...

. McShane died of congestive heart failure at the University of Virginia hospital.

Selected publications

Articles

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Books

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as translator

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References

External links

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MAA presidents: Edward James McShane
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McShane, Edward J. 1904 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians Tulane University alumni University of Virginia faculty University of Chicago alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Presidents of the Mathematical Association of America Presidents of the American Mathematical Society Members of the American Philosophical Society