Herman Chernoff (born July 1, 1923) is an American applied mathematician, statistician and physicist. He was formerly a professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stanford, and MIT, currently emeritus at Harvard University.[1][2]
Herman Chernoff | |
|---|---|
 Chernoff speaking in New York on October 6, 2015 | |
| Born | July 1, 1923 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Studentization in testing of hypotheses (1948) |
| Doctoral advisor | Abraham Wald |
| Notable students | |
Early life and education
editHerman Chernoff's parents were Pauline and Max Chernoff, Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. He studied at Townsend Harris High School[2] and earned a B.S. in mathematics from the City College of New York in 1943.[3] He attended graduate school at Brown University, earning an M.Sc. in applied mathematics in 1945, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics in 1948 under the supervision of Abraham Wald.[3][4]
Recognition
editChernoff became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1974,[5] and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1980.[6] In 1987, he was selected for the Wilks Memorial Award by the American Statistical Association,[7] and in 2012, he was made an inaugural fellow of the American Mathematical Society.[8]
Personal life
editHerman Chernoff's met his future wife, Judith, when they were both graduate students at Brown University in 1945, and married her in 1947.[9] She died at the age of 98 on June 9, 2023.[10] At the time of her death they were believed to be the oldest couple living in Massachusetts.[11]
Chernoff turned 100 on July 1, 2023.[12]
See also
edit- Chernoff bound (also known as Chernoff's inequality)
- Chernoff face
- Chernoff's distribution
References
edit- ^ Bather, John (1996). "A conversation with Herman Chernoff". Statistical Science. 11 (4): 335–350. doi:10.1214/ss/1032280306.
- ^ a b "Herman Chernoff". MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Herman Chernoff". Faculty directory. MIT. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Herman Chernoff". Mathematics Genealogy Project. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Herman Chernoff". Member Directory. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. September 2024.
- ^ "Herman Chernoff". Member directory. National Academy of Sciences.
- ^ "Samuel S Wilks Award of the American Statistical Association". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
- ^ List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2012-11-10
- ^ Siliezar, Juan. "A sense of humor, giving space, trying to listen: Advice from 73 years of marriage". The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Judith Chernoff OBITUARY". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Stephanos, Maria (Mar 16, 2021). "Meet husband, wife believed to be oldest living couple in Massachusetts". WCVB-TV. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Fortnow, Lance. "Chernoff Turns 100". Retrieved 2023-07-02.
External links
edit- Chernoff's faculty profile at Harvard.
- Chernoff's faculty profile Archived 2022-10-07 at the Wayback Machine at MIT.
- Chernoff's biography on the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
- Chernoff's author profile on MathSciNet.
- Chernoff's profile on Mathematics Genealogy.
- Herman Chernoff publications indexed by Google Scholar