John McCarthy (mathematician) facts for kids
John Edward McCarthy, born on January 20, 1964, is a very smart mathematician. He teaches at Washington University in St. Louis. He used to be the head of the math department there. He studies special areas of math like operator theory and several complex variables. He also uses math to help with things like ultrasound and neuroimaging (brain imaging).
His Journey in Math
John Edward McCarthy was born in Ireland. He went to Trinity College Dublin and got his first degree in 1983. Later, he earned his Ph.D. (a very advanced degree) from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. His teacher there was Donald Sarason, who was also a famous mathematician.
What He Studies
John McCarthy works on several interesting math topics. He studies things called Toeplitz operators. These are special mathematical tools. He also looks at spaces of holomorphic functions. These are functions that are "smooth" and well-behaved in a mathematical sense.
He also works on something called Nevanlinna–Pick interpolation. This is a way to find a function that fits certain points. He also helps with math for medical tools. For example, he uses math to improve ultrasound and neuroimaging. These tools help doctors see inside the body and brain.
In 1995, he worked with Sheldon Axler and Donald Sarason. They led a special program at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. This program was all about "Holomorphic Spaces." He also wrote a book with Jim Agler called Pick Interpolation and Hilbert Function Spaces.
Awards and Recognition
John McCarthy has received important awards for his math work. In 2016, he won the Gilbert de Beauregard Robinson award. This award came from the Canadian Mathematical Society. In 2018, he was chosen as a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. Being a Fellow means you are recognized as a top mathematician.
Books He Wrote
John McCarthy has written and edited several math books. These books help other mathematicians learn and understand complex ideas.
- (with Sheldon Axler, and Donald Sarason) editors. Holomorphic Spaces, Cambridge University Press 1998
- (with Jim Agler) Pick Interpolation and Hilbert function spaces, American Mathematical Society 2002
- (with Bob A. Dumas) Transition to Higher Mathematics: Structure and Proof, 1st ed. McGraw Hill 2006; 2nd. ed. Washington University Open Scholarship, 2015
- (with Jim Agler and Nicholas Young) Operator Analysis: Hilbert space methods in complex analysis, Cambridge University Press, 2020.
