William Parry FRS (3 July 1934 – 20 August 2006) was an English mathematician who worked in

dynamical systems In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a function describes the time dependence of a point in an ambient space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water in ...

, and, in particular,

ergodic theory Ergodic theory (Greek: ' "work", ' "way") is a branch of mathematics that studies statistical properties of deterministic dynamical systems; it is the study of ergodicity. In this context, statistical properties means properties which are expres ...

. In particular, he studied subshifts of finite type nilflows.

Life

Bill Parry was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

in the

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

(now the West Midlands), England, the sixth of seven children. Although he failed the

eleven-plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academ ...

, Parry was persuaded by his mathematics teacher at Coventry Junior Technical School, specialising in metalwork and woodwork, to aim for university. To get appropriate tuition, he had to travel to Birmingham Technical College. He won a place at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. Following an MSc at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, he returned to London to study at

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cul ...

with

Yael Dowker Yael Naim Dowker (1919–2016) was an English people, English mathematician, prominent especially due to her work in the fields of Measure (mathematics), measure theory, ergodic theory and topological dynamics. Biography Yael Naim (later Dowker) ...

, obtaining his PhD in 1960, with thesis ''Ergodic and mixing transformations''. Having served in lecturing positions at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

and the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, Parry was appointed to a readership at the recently created

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (202 ...

in 1968; his was the first appointment in analysis. Two years later, he gave a particularly well-received address at the Sixteenth

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the Nevanlinna Prize (to be rename ...

in Nice, France, and was promoted to professor. He played a key role in the Warwick Mathematics Department, and was Chair of the Department for 2 years. The rapid rise of the Department's international reputation was due to many, among whom Parry featured prominently. His great mathematical achievements were recognized by his early election to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

in 1984; however, he rarely used the title "Fellow of the Royal Society" except to aid specific causes of interest. Parry continued to contribute to the mathematical community and others' learning up until his death: he taught the University of Warwick's undergraduate course on ergodic theory as late as 2003. His published works include more than 80 research articles and four books. His doctoral students include Mark Pollicott and Mary Rees. He died in Marton, Warwickshire, of cancer exacerbated by

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

, at the age of 72, on 20 August 2006.

Research

In 1975, Parry and

Dennis Sullivan Dennis Parnell Sullivan (born February 12, 1941) is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic topology, geometric topology, and dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the City University of New York Graduate Ce ...

introduced the topological Parry–Sullivan invariant for flows in one-dimensional dynamical systems.

References

External links

Obituaries An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acco ...

: ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, Bill 1934 births 2006 deaths 20th-century English mathematicians 21st-century English mathematicians Dynamical systems theorists Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of University College London Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Sussex Academics of the University of Warwick Fellows of the Royal Society Infectious disease deaths in England Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus People from Coventry

Life

Research

See also

References

External links