Steven Strogatz

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Steven H. Strogatz
SpouseCarole Schiffman
ChildrenLeah Strogatz, Joanna Strogatz
AwardsFellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Lewis Thomas Prize
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
Complex systems
Networks
Applied mathematics
Chaos theory[1]
InstitutionsCornell University
University of Cambridge
Princeton University
Harvard University
Boston University
ThesisThe Mathematical Structure of the Human Sleep-Wake Cycle (1986)
Doctoral advisorRichard Ernest Kronauer
Charles Czeisler[2]
Doctoral studentsDuncan J. Watts
Lauren M. Childs[2]
Websitewww.stevenstrogatz.com
math.cornell.edu/steven-strogatz

Steven Henry Strogatz (/ˈstrɡæts/), born August 13, 1959, is an American mathematician and author, and the Susan and Barton Winokur Distinguished Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics at Cornell University.[3][4] He is known for his work on

mathematical biology and complex network
theory.

Strogatz is the host of Quanta Magazine's The Joy of Why podcast.[5] He previously hosted The Joy of x podcast, named after his book of the same name.[6][7] His published books include Sync, The Joy of x, The Calculus of Friendship, and Infinite Powers.

Education

Strogatz attended high school at

Ph.D.[9] in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1986 for his research on the dynamics of the human sleep-wake cycle. He completed his postdoc under Nancy Kopell at Boston University
.

Career

After spending three years as a

Cornell where he is a professor of mathematics. From 2007 to 2023 he was the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics,[10] and in 2023 he was named the inaugural holder of the Susan and Barton Winokur Distinguished Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics.[11] From 2004 to 2010, he was also on the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute
.

Research

Early in his career, Strogatz worked on a variety of problems in mathematical biology, including the geometry of supercoiled DNA,[12] the topology of three-dimensional chemical waves,[13] and the collective behavior of biological oscillators, such as swarms of synchronously flashing fireflies.[14] In the 1990s, his work focused on nonlinear dynamics and chaos applied to physics, engineering, and biology. Several of these projects dealt with coupled oscillators, such as lasers, superconducting Josephson junctions, and crickets that chirp in unison.[15] His more recent work examines complex systems and their consequences in everyday life, such as the role of crowd synchronization in the wobbling of London's Millennium Bridge on its opening day,[16] and the dynamics of structural balance in social systems.[17][18]

Perhaps his best-known research contribution is his 1998

statistical physics to sociology, business, epidemiology, and neuroscience. As one measure of its importance, it was the most highly cited article about networks between 1998 and 2008, and the sixth most highly cited paper in all of physics.[20] It has now been cited more than 50,000 times, according to Google Scholar; as of 17 October 2014, it was the 63rd most highly cited research article of all time.[21][22]

Writing and outreach

Strogatz's writing for the general public includes four books and frequent newspaper articles. His book Sync

New York Times columns on the elements of mathematics.[30] Harvard Business Review described these columns as "a model for how mathematics needs to be popularized" and as "must reads for entrepreneurs and executives who grasp that mathematics is now the lingua franca of serious business analysis.".[31] Strogatz's second New York Times series, "Me, Myself and Math" appeared in the fall of 2012.[32] His most recent book, Infinite Powers,[33] was shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize[34] and was a New York Times Best Seller.[35] Published in 2019, it "evocatively conveys how calculus illuminates the patterns of the Universe, large and small," according to a review in Nature.[36]

In 2020 Strogatz began hosting a podcast for Quanta Magazine called “The Joy of x” in which he chats “with a wide range of scientists about their lives and work.”[37]

Awards

Strogatz is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics,[38] the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[39] the American Physical Society,[40] and the American Mathematical Society.[41]

Strogatz has been lauded for his ability as a teacher and communicator. In 1991 he was honored with the E. M. Baker Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, MIT's only institute-wide teaching award selected and awarded solely by students. He has also won several teaching awards at Cornell, including Cornell's highest undergraduate teaching prize, the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship (2016).[42] At the national level, Strogatz received the JPBM Communications Award in 2007.[43] Presented annually, this award recognizes outstanding achievement in communicating about mathematics to nonmathematicians. The JPBM represents the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In 2013 he received the AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award[44] for "his exceptional commitment to and passion for conveying the beauty and importance of mathematics to the general public."

Strogatz was selected to be the 2009 Rouse Ball Lecturer at Cambridge[45] and an MIT Mathematics 2011 Simons lecturer.[46]

In 2014 he was awarded the Euler Book Prize by

The Mathematical Association of America for "The Joy of x".[47] The award citation[48] describes the book as "a masterpiece of expository writing" and remarks that it is "directed to the millions of readers who claim they never really understood what the mathematics they studied was all about, for whom math was a series of techniques to be mastered for no apparent reason." Along with Ian Stewart, Strogatz was awarded the 2015 Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science.[49]

References

  1. ^ Steven Strogatz publications indexed by Google Scholar
  2. ^ a b Steven Strogatz at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. ^ Strogatz personal web page
  4. ^ Strogatz at Cornell
  5. ^ "The Joy of Why". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Quanta Magazine". www.quantamagazine.org. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  7. ^ "Why I'm Hosting The Joy of x Podcast". Quanta Magazine. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  8. ^ Strogatz, Steven (1980). The mathematics of supercoiled DNA : an essay in geometric biology. Princeton, NJ: Department of Mathematics.
  9. S2CID 85106859. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help
    )
  10. ^ Cornell news article about Schurman Professors
  11. ^ Cornell news article about Winokur Professorship
  12. PMID 6940168
    .
  13. ^ Sullivan, Walter (1985-01-08). "Strange, Scroll-Like Wave is Linked to Biological Processes". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Sullivan, Walter (1991-08-13). "A Mystery of Nature: Mangroves Full of Fireflies Blinking in Unison". The New York Times.
  15. S2CID 2249987
    .
  16. ^ Chang, Kenneth (2005-11-08). "All Together Now: Synchrony Explains Swaying". The New York Times.
  17. ^ 2011 Simons Lectures - Steven Strogatz, Social networks that balance themselves
  18. PMID 21199953
    .
  19. .
  20. ^ "ScienceWatch December 2008". Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  21. PMID 25355343
    .
  22. ^ "Excel spreadsheet of Google Scholar's 100 top-cited research articles. Extracted on 17 October 2014".[unreliable source?]
  23. OCLC 50511177
    .
  24. ^ Discover's Best Books 2003
  25. OCLC 276274618
    .
  26. ^ Bookslut book review for The Calculus of Friendship
  27. ^ American Scientist book review for The Calculus of Friendship
  28. .
  29. ^ Euler Book Prize, Mathematical Association of America, retrieved 2015-08-03.
  30. ^ 2010 New York Times "Elements of Math" series
  31. ^ Harvard Business Review blog by Michael Schrage
  32. ^ "Me, Myself and Math - Opinionator - NYTimes.com". Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
  33. ^ "Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe | HMH Books". www.hmhbooks.com. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  34. ^ "Shortlist for Royal Society Science Book Prize 2019".
  35. ^ "New York Times Best Sellers, Science, May 2019". The New York Times.
  36. .
  37. ^ Quanta Magazine essay about The Joy of x Podcast
  38. ^ SIAM Fellows Class of 2009
  39. ^ "AAAS Fellows elected 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
  40. ^ 2014 Fellows of American Physical Society
  41. ^ 2016 Class of the Fellows of the AMS, American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2015-11-16.
  42. ^ Weiss Presidential Fellowship
  43. ^ JPBM award announcement
  44. ^ AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award
  45. ^ "Rouse Ball Lecture". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  46. ^ "MIT Mathematics | Simons". Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  47. ^ Euler Book Prize
  48. ^ Citation for Euler Book Prize, pp. 22-23
  49. ^ Lewis Thomas Prize Archived 2015-03-20 at the Wayback Machine

External links