San Antonio College Library

It is difficult to evaluate contemporary mathematicians without the benefit of a retrospective viewpoint, separated by several decades. This comprehensive single-volume A-to-Z reference covers both the past and present scientists who have significantly contributed to the field of mathematics. Including all of the central mathematicians, as well as other lesser-known persons in the field who made serious contributions, this inclusive reference covers...

Interviews and profiles of mathematicians, teachers, and friends of mathematics provide an insight into the motives, philosophies, and talents that drive the creative process of mathematics.

The first half of Calculus Gems, entitled Brief Lives, is a biological history of mathematics from the earliest times to the late nineteenth century. The author shows that science-and mathematics in particular-is something that people do, and not merely a mass of observed data and abstract theory. He demonstrates the profound connections that join mathematics to the history of philosophy and also to the broader intellectual and social history of Western...

Fascinating Mathematical People is a collection of informal interviews and memoirs of sixteen prominent members of the mathematical community of the twentieth century, many still active. The candid portraits collected here demonstrate that while these men and women vary widely in terms of their backgrounds, life stories, and worldviews, they all share a deep and abiding sense of wonder about mathematics. Featured here--in their own words--are major...

The breathtakingly rapid pace of change in computing makes it easy to overlook the pioneers who began it all. Written by Martin Davis, respected logician and researcher in the theory of computation, The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turingexplores the fascinating lives, ideas, and discoveries of seven remarkable mathematicians. It tells the stories of the unsung heroes of the computer age {u2013} the logicians.

"Harvard geometer and Fields medalist Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world's most distinguished mathematicians. Beginning with an impoverished childhood in China and Hong Kong, Yau takes readers through his doctoral studies...

Photographs accompanied by autobiographical text written by each mathematician.

"In 2015, at the age of ninety-seven, Katherine Johnson became a global celebrity for her pioneering work as a mathematician on NASA's first flights into space. In this memoir, she shares her personal journey from child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to NASA human computer. Centered around the basic tenets of her life - no one is better than you, education is paramount, and asking questions can break barriers - this heartfelt...

"Taking inspiration from Siv Cedering's poem in the form of a fictional letter from Caroline Herschel that refers to 'my long, lost sisters, forgotten in the books that record our science', this book tells the lives of twenty-five female scientists, with specific attention to astronomers and mathematicians. Each of the presented biographies is organized as a kind of 'personal file' which sets the biographee's life in its historical context, documents...