James Gilbert Glimm (born March 24, 1934) is 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 ...

, former 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, meeting ...

, and distinguished professor at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...

. He has made many contributions in the areas of pure and

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

Life and career

James Glimm was born in Peoria,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, United States on March 24, 1934. He received his BA in engineering from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1956. He continued on to graduate school at Columbia where he received his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1959; his advisor was

Richard V. Kadison Richard Vincent Kadison (July 25, 1925 – August 22, 2018)F ...

.http://www.ams.sunysb.edu/~glimm/Vita%20James%20Glimm.htm Glimm was at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, and at

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

, before arriving at

in 1989. He has been noted for contributions to

C*-algebra In mathematics, specifically in functional analysis, a C∗-algebra (pronounced "C-star") is a Banach algebra together with an involution satisfying the properties of the adjoint. A particular case is that of a complex algebra ''A'' of continuou ...

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...

partial differential equation 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 h ...

fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...

scientific computing Computational science, also known as scientific computing or scientific computation (SC), is a field in mathematics that uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and solve complex problems. It is an area of science that spans many disc ...

, and the modeling of petroleum reservoirs. Together with Arthur Jaffe, he has founded a subject called

constructive quantum field theory In mathematical physics, constructive quantum field theory is the field devoted to showing that quantum field theory can be defined in terms of precise mathematical structures. This demonstration requires new mathematics, in a sense analogous to ...

. His early work in the theory of operator algebras was seminal, and today the "Glimm algebras" that bear his name continue to play an important role in this area of research. More recently, the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

adopted Glimm's front-track methodology for shock-wave calculations, e.g., simulating weapons performance. Glimm was elected to 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 Nat ...

in 1984. He was an Invited Speaker of the ICM in 1970 at Nice and a Plenary Speaker of the ICM in 1974 at Vancouver. In 1993, Glimm was awarded the Leroy P. Steele Prize for his contribution to solving hyperbolic systems 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 ...

. He won the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

in 2002 "For his original approaches and creative contribution to an array of disciplines in mathematical analysis and mathematical physics". Starting January 1, 2007, he served a 2-year term as president of the

. In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
retrieved 2013-01-19.

Appointments

Selected publications

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References

External links

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Home Page
at Stony Brook {{DEFAULTSORT:Glimm, James Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Stony Brook University faculty Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Living people National Medal of Science laureates Fluid dynamicists 1934 births Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Brookhaven National Laboratory staff Presidents of the American Mathematical Society Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences faculty People from Peoria, Illinois Mathematicians from Illinois