Carolyn S. Gordon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carolyn S. Gordon
|
|
|---|---|
Gordon in 2016
|
|
| Born | December 26, 1950 |
| Alma mater | Purdue University (BS) Washington University in St. Louis (PhD) |
| Known for | Inverse spectral problems, homogeneous spaces |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Dartmouth College |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward Nathan Wilson |
Carolyn S. Gordon (born in 1950) is an American mathematician. She is a professor of mathematics at Dartmouth College. She is famous for her work on a tricky question: "Can you hear the shape of a drum?" She helped answer this question with her colleagues, David Webb and Scott A. Wolpert.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Carolyn Gordon earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science, from Purdue University. She then went on to Washington University in St. Louis for her advanced studies. In 1979, she received her PhD in mathematics. Her main teacher was Edward Nathan Wilson. Her PhD work was about the shapes of certain mathematical spaces. After her PhD, she worked at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. She also held positions at Lehigh University and Washington University in St. Louis.
What is Isospectral Geometry?
Carolyn Gordon is best known for her work in something called isospectral geometry. This field asks if you can tell the exact shape of an object just by listening to its vibrations or "sound." A famous way to think about this is the question: "Can you hear the shape of a drum?"
In 1966, a mathematician named Mark Kac asked if the shape of a drum could be figured out by the sounds it makes. For a long time, no one knew the answer for flat, two-dimensional shapes.
Then, in 1992, Carolyn Gordon, along with David Webb and Scott Wolpert, found an amazing answer. They created two different drum shapes that would make the exact same sounds! This meant you cannot always hear the shape of a drum. The picture on the right shows their famous "isospectral" (same sound) drum shapes. Even though they look different, they vibrate in the same way.
Gordon and Webb continued their work. They found other shapes that sound the same but look different. This included shapes in different kinds of mathematical spaces.
Carolyn Gordon has written many articles about isospectral geometry. Her work shows that even if two shapes have the same local geometry, they can still have different overall structures.
Awards and Honors
Carolyn Gordon has received many important awards for her work.
- In 2001, she and David Webb won the Chauvenet Prize. This award is for excellent writing about mathematics. They won it for their paper titled "You can't hear the shape of a drum."
- In 2010, she was chosen as a Noether Lecturer. This honor celebrates women who have made big contributions to mathematics.
- She became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2012. She also became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- In 2017, she was part of the first group of fellows for the Association for Women in Mathematics.
Personal Life
Carolyn Gordon is married to David Webb, who is also a mathematician and her research partner. She has said that raising her daughter, Annalisa, is her greatest joy.
See also
In Spanish: Carolyn S. Gordon para niños
