Edwin Arend Perkins (born 1953) is a Canadian

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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

specializing in

probability theory Probability theory or probability calculus is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expre ...

, including the analysis of

Brownian motion Brownian motion is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or a gas). The traditional mathematical formulation of Brownian motion is that of the Wiener process, which is often called Brownian motion, even in mathematical ...

and the applications to probability of

non-standard analysis The history of calculus is fraught with philosophical debates about the meaning and logical validity of fluxions or infinitesimal numbers. The standard way to resolve these debates is to define the operations of calculus using (ε, δ)-definitio ...

. He is a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of mathematics and statistics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Education and career

Perkins received a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1975 from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He obtained his PhD in 1979 under the supervision of Frank Bardsley Knight at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

with a dissertation titled 'A Nonstandard Approach to Brownian Local Time'. He came to the University of British Columbia as a postdoctoral researcher in 1979, and became an assistant professor there in 1982. He was promoted to associate professor in 1985 and full professor in 1989. He was given a tier 1

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Probability in 2001.

Recognition

Perkins was elected to the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

(FRSC) in 1988 and 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, re ...

(FRS) in 2007. He was the 1983 recipient of the

Rollo Davidson Prize The Rollo Davidson Prize is a prize awarded annually to early-career probabilists by the Rollo Davidson trustees. It is named after English mathematician Rollo Davidson (1944–1970). Rollo Davidson Trust In 1970, Rollo Davidson, a Fellow-e ...

, the 2002 recipient of the

Jeffery–Williams Prize The Jeffery–Williams Prize is a mathematics award presented annually by the Canadian Mathematical Society. The award is presented to individuals in recognition of outstanding contributions to mathematical research. The first award was present ...

of the

Canadian Mathematical Society The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS; French: ''Société mathématique du Canada'') is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to advancing mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. The Society se ...

and (with John McKay) one of two recipients of the 2003

CRM-Fields-PIMS prize The CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize is the premier Canadian research prize in the mathematical sciences. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional research achievement in the mathematical sciences and is given annually by three Canadian mathematics institu ...

. In 2019 the University of Illinois gave him their Mathematics Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

References

External links

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Ed 1953 births Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Canada Research Chairs Living people Probability theorists