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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsTracy Y. Thomas
Dates
January 8, 1899 – March 23, 1983
Authorized Form of Name
Thomas, Tracy Y. (Tracy Yerkes), 1899-1983
Additional Forms of Names
Thomas, Tracy Yerkes
Tomas, T., 1899-1983
Biography
Abstract
Tracy Thomas was Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Indiana University (1969-1983). Other institutional affiliations included University of California, Los Angeles and Princeton University. His research interests included the theory of relativity, plasticity, shock waves, tensors and differential geometry, the extended theory of condition for discontinuities over moving surfaces, and cosmology.
Important Dates
January 8, 1899Birth, Alton (Ill.).
1921Obtained AB, Rice Institute, Houston (Tex.).
1922Obtained AM, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).
1923Obtained PhD in Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).
1923 – 1924National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Physics, University of Chicago.
1924 – 1925National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Mathematics, University of Zurich.
1925 – 1926National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Mathematics, Harvard University and Princeton University.
1926 – 1938Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).
1938 – 1944Professor of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles (Calif.).
1941Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1944 – 1983Professor of Mathematics (1944-1954); Chair, Department of Mathematics (1944-1954); Head, Graduate Institute of Applied Mathematics (1950-1954); Director, Graduate Instructor in Mathematics and Mechanics (1954-1956); Distinguished Service Professor of Mathematics (1956-1969); and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics (1969-1983), Indiana University, Bloomington (Ill.).
1951 – 1968Consultant, Applied Mathematics Staff, Naval Research Laboratory, United States Navy.
1960 – 1969Consultant, RAND Corporation.
1962 – 1963Visiting Professor, University of California, San Diego.
1965 – 1970Visiting Professor, University of California, Los Angeles.
March 23, 1983Death.
Occupation
Applied mathematician.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Subjects
Relationships
People
Colleagues
Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961
Both employed at Harvard University.
Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962
Both employed at University of Chicago.
Both employed at University of Chicago.
Eisenhart, Luther Pfahler, 1876-1965
Both employed at Princeton University.
Both employed at University of Chicago.
Michelson, Albert A. (Albert Abraham), 1852-1931
Both employed at University of Chicago.
Both employed at University of Chicago.
Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961
Both employed at Princeton University.
Swann, W. F. G. (William Francis Gray), 1884-1962
Both employed at University of Chicago.
Both employed at Princeton University.
Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995
Both employed at Princeton University.
Institutions
Major Positions
Harvard University. Department of Mathematics
National Research Council (NRC) Fellow.
Indiana University, Bloomington. Department of Mathematics
Professor of Mathematics; Department Chair; Director, Graduate Instructor in Mathematics and Mechanics; Distinguished Service Professor of Mathematics; and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics.
Indiana University. Graduate Institute for Applied Mathematics
Head.
Princeton University. Department of Mathematics
Obtained AM (1922) and PhD (1923). National Research Council (NRC) Fellow and Assistant Professor to Associate Professor.
University of California, Los Angeles. Department of Mathematics
Professor and Visiting Professor.
University of Chicago. Department of Physics
National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
Naval Research Laboratory (U.S.)
Consultant, Applied Mathematics Staff.
Rand Corporation
Consultant.
Universitat Zurich
National Research Council (NRC) Fellow in Mathematics.
University of California, San Diego. Department of Mathematics
Visiting Professor.
William M. Rice Institute
Obtained AB (1921).