Charles E. M. Pearce facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles E. M. Pearce
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Charles Pearce in 2001. (Photo: Andrew G. Allison)
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| Born | 29 March 1940 Wellington, New Zealand
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| Died | 8 June 2012 (aged 72) Manakaiua River, West Coast, New Zealand
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| Nationality | Australian-New Zealand |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington University of New Zealand Australian National University |
| Known for | Probabilistic modelling |
| Awards | ANZIAM Medal (2001) ASOR Ren Potts Award (2007) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician |
| Institutions | The University of Adelaide |
| Doctoral advisor | Pat Moran |
Charles Edward Miller Pearce (born March 29, 1940 – died June 8, 2012) was a talented mathematician from New Zealand and Australia. He was known for his work with numbers and patterns. At the time of his death, he was a very important professor of mathematics at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Charles Pearce was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He went to school there and was the top student at Hutt Valley High School in 1957. He loved learning about math and physics.
He earned two bachelor's degrees in science. One was in Applied and Pure Mathematics. The other was in Physics and Mathematical Physics. He then earned a master's degree in Mathematics with top honors in 1962. All his degrees were from Victoria University of Wellington.
Proud New Zealand Roots
Charles Pearce was always very proud of his New Zealand heritage. He was descended from the Māori people, who are the native people of New Zealand. He often said his family's history in New Zealand was longer than most of his friends.
His family came from Alexander Gray, one of the first Scottish settlers in New Zealand. Charles was very interested in Maori culture and traditions. He felt a connection to three ancient Māori canoes, called waka, that brought his ancestors to New Zealand. His main family connection was with the Ngati Ruanui tribe. This tribe is based in the southern Taranaki Region.
Life and Career Journey
In 1963, Charles Pearce moved from New Zealand to Australia. He went to the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra to study for his PhD. His supervisor, who guided his research, was Pat Moran.
After his studies, Charles worked as a lecturer for a few years. He taught at ANU, the University of Queensland, and the University of Rennes 1 in France. He also taught at the University of Sheffield in England from 1966 to 1968.
In 1968, he joined the University of Adelaide in Australia. He stayed there for the rest of his career. He became a senior lecturer in 1971, a Reader in 1982, and a full professor in 2003. In 2005, he was given the special title of Elder Chair of Mathematics.
While at ANU, Charles met and married Frances O'Connor. They had two daughters, Emma and Ann, and raised them in Adelaide. Charles sadly passed away in a car accident in New Zealand on June 8, 2012.
Amazing Math Work
Charles Pearce was famous for his work in probabilistic and statistical modeling. This means he used math to understand things that involve chance and data. He wrote many papers and books about his ideas. His work helped in both understanding math theory and solving real-world problems.
He was interested in many practical areas, such as:
- Queuing theory: This helps understand waiting lines, like at a store or for a computer program.
- Road traffic: How cars move on roads and how to make traffic flow better.
- Telecommunications: How phone calls and internet data travel.
- Urban planning: How to design cities and towns more efficiently.
With a former student, Bill Henderson, he helped start the Teletraffic Centre at the University of Adelaide. This center focused on how communication networks work. Charles wrote three books, 23 book chapters, and over 300 research articles.
He was a very important person in the Division of Applied Mathematics of the Australian Mathematical Society. He was the chief editor of their journal, now called The ANZIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics. Charles was very passionate about bringing together mathematicians from Australia and New Zealand. He worked hard for the group called ANZIAM. In 2001, he received the ANZIAM Medal for his outstanding research and hard work.
In 2003, Charles Pearce was chosen as a Fellow of the New Zealand Mathematical Society. In 2007, he received the ASOR Ren Potts Award. These awards recognized his great contributions to mathematics.
Books by Charles Pearce
Here are some of the books Charles Pearce wrote or helped write:
- Charles E. M. Pearce and F. M. Pearce, Oceanic Migration: Paths, Sequence, Timing and Range of Prehistoric Migration in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Springer, 2010. This book explores how people moved across the Pacific and Indian Oceans long ago.
- Charles E. M. Pearce and Emma Hunt (Eds), Optimization: Structure and Applications, Springer, 2009. This book is about finding the best ways to do things, like making systems work as well as possible.
- Mark D. McDonnell, Nigel G. Stocks, Charles E. M. Pearce, and Derek Abbott, Stochastic Resonance, Cambridge University Press, 2008. This book is about a special effect where adding a little bit of noise can actually help a system work better.
- Sever S. Dragomir and Charles E. M. Pearce, Selected Topics on Hermite-Hadamard Inequalities and Applications, RGMIA Monographs, Victoria University, 2000. This book is about specific math problems called inequalities.
