Roger Keith Dennis (March 10, 1944 – December 12, 2024), known as R. Keith Dennis or Keith Dennis, was an American mathematician who worked in

algebraic K-theory Algebraic ''K''-theory is a subject area in mathematics with connections to geometry, topology, ring theory, and number theory. Geometric, algebraic, and arithmetic objects are assigned objects called ''K''-groups. These are groups in the sens ...

and

group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ( ...

. His career was spent as a professor in the Department of Mathematics at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Dennis was the executive editor of ''

Mathematical Reviews ''Mathematical Reviews'' is a journal published by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) that contains brief synopses, and in some cases evaluations, of many articles in mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer science. The AMS also pu ...

'' as it transitioned from a printed resource to a mainly-digital one.

Early life and career

Dennis was born in

Vernon, Texas Vernon is a city and the county seat of Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. and as of the 2010 census had a population of 11,002. History The original town was called Eagle Springs by the indigenous community as early as 1858. After t ...

, on March 10, 1944, and grew up on a farm 8 miles north of

Quanah, Texas Quanah () is a city in and the county seat of Hardeman County, Texas, Hardeman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,279, down from 2,641 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. ...

. He graduated from Quanah High School in 1962, and attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, earning his bachelor's in 1966 and his doctorate in 1970. His thesis on "Presentation for the Elementary Group and the Functor

K_2

" was done under Stephen M. Gersten. He spent the academic year 1970–1971 at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

in Princeton as the first assistant of

John Milnor John Willard Milnor (born February 20, 1931) is an American mathematician known for his work in differential topology, algebraic K-theory and low-dimensional holomorphic dynamical systems. Milnor is a distinguished professor at Stony Brook Uni ...

.Roger Keith Dennis
Member: School of Mathematics 9/1970 – 8/1971, IAS In 1971, Dennis joined the Department of Mathematics at Cornell University, and he was promoted to full professor in 1981. From 1987 to 1993 he served as the department chair. He retired to emeritus status in 2019. From January 1995 through June 1998, Dennis was the executive editor of the American Mathematical Society’s ''Mathematical Reviews''. During this period ''Mathematical Reviews'' designed and began the development of

MathSciNet MathSciNet is a searchable online bibliographic database created by the American Mathematical Society in 1996. It contains all of the contents of the journal ''Mathematical Reviews'' (MR) since 1940 along with an extensive author database, links ...

which went online in January 1996. He was on the Board of Advisors of the

American Institute of Mathematics The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) is one of nine mathematical institutes in the United States, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It was founded in 1994 by John Fry, co-founder of Fry's Electronics, and originally located ...

since its inception. In 2013, Dennis was in the inaugural class of fellows 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, ...

Personal life and death

Dennis had four children. He died of metastatic

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

on December 12, 2024, at the age of 80.

Books

* 1982 (editor) ''Algebraic K-Theory. Proceedings of a Conference Held at Oberwolfach, June 1980''
Part 1
an
Part 2
(Springer) * 1993 (with Benson Farb)
Noncommutative Algebra
(Springer, Graduate Texts in Mathematics Book 144)'', August 20, 1993,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, R. Keith 1944 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Fellows of the American Mathematical Society American academic journal editors Group theorists Cornell University faculty Rice University alumni People from Quanah, Texas Mathematicians from Texas