Robin Gandy

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Robin Gandy
Born
Robin Oliver Gandy

(1919-09-22)22 September 1919
Recursion theory
Scientific career
FieldsMathematical logic
Institutions
ThesisOn Axiomatic Systems in Mathematics and Theories in Physics (1953)
Doctoral advisorAlan Turing[1][2]
Doctoral students

Robin Oliver Gandy (22 September 1919 – 20 November 1995) was a British mathematician and

logician.[4] He was a friend, student, and associate of Alan Turing, having been supervised by Turing during his PhD at the University of Cambridge,[1] where they worked together.[5][6][7]

Education and early life

Robin Gandy was born in the village of Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire, England.[4] A great-great-grandson of the architect and artist Joseph Gandy (1771–1843), he was the son of Thomas Hall Gandy (1876–1948), a general practitioner, and Ida Caroline née Hony (1885–1977), a social worker and later an author.[8] His brother was the diplomat Christopher Gandy and his sister was the physician Gillian Gandy.[9]

Educated at

PhD under Turing's supervision. He completed his thesis, On axiomatic systems in mathematics and theories in Physics, in 1952.[1] He was a member of the Cambridge Apostles.[10]

Career and research

Gandy held positions at the University of Leicester, the University of Leeds, and the University of Manchester. He was a visiting associate professor at Stanford University from 1966 to 1967, and held a similar position at University of California, Los Angeles in 1968. In 1969, he moved to Wolfson College, Oxford, where he became Reader in Mathematical Logic.

Gandy is known for his work in

recursion theory. His contributions include the Spector–Gandy theorem, the Gandy Stage Comparison theorem, and the Gandy Selection theorem. He also made a significant contribution to the understanding of the Church–Turing thesis, and his generalisation of the Turing machine is called a Gandy machine.[11]

Gandy died in Oxford, England on 20 November 1995.[4][12]

Legacy

The Robin Gandy Buildings, a pair of accommodation blocks at Wolfson College, Oxford, are named after Gandy.[13][14] A one-day centenary Gandy Colloquium was held on 22 February 2020 at the College in Gandy's honour, including contributions by some of his students;[15][16] the speakers were Marianna Antonutti Marfori (Munich), Andrew Hodges (Oxford), Martin Hyland (Cambridge), Jeff Paris (Manchester), Göran Sundholm (Leiden), Christine Tasson (Paris), and Philip Welch (Bristol).

References

  1. ^
    EThOS uk.bl.ethos.590164. Free access icon
  2. ^ a b c Robin Gandy at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.460247
    .
  4. ^ a b c Yates, Mike (24 November 1995). "Obituary: Robin Gandy". The Independent. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. ISBN 0-671-49207-1
    .
  6. S2CID 246638427
    .
  7. S2CID 120785678
    .
  8. ^ "Ida Gandy - Writer". Aldbourne Heritage Centre. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  9. S2CID 41777853
    .
  10. ^ "Wolfson College salutes Robin Gandy on his centenary | Wolfson College, Oxford".
  11. ^ Wilfried Sieg, 2005, Church without dogma: axioms for computability, Carnegie Mellon University
  12. ^ Robin Gandy — The Alan Turing Scrapbook, archived at Archive.Today
  13. ^ "Accommodation types – Robin Gandy Buildings". UK: Wolfson College, Oxford. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Robin Gandy Buildings, Wolfson". Flickr. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  15. ^ "The Gandy Colloquium". UK: Wolfson College, Oxford. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  16. ^ Isaacson, Daniel (2020). "Wolfson College salutes Robin Gandy on his centenary". UK: Wolfson College, Oxford. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
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