John Riordan
Encyclopedia
John Riordan was an American
mathematician
and the author of major early works in combinatorics
, particularly Introduction to Combinatorial Analysis and Combinatorial Identities.
in New York. He married Mavis McIntosh, the well-known poet and literary agent.
Riordan's long professional career was at Bell Labs
, which he joined in 1926 (a year after its foundation) and where he remained, publishing over a hundred scholarly papers on combinatorial analysis, until he retired in 1968. He then joined the faculty at Rockefeller University
as professor emeritus. A Festschrift
was published in his honor in 1978.
Throughout his life Riordan led an active literary life, with many distinguished friends such as Kenneth Burke
, William Carlos Williams
and A. R. Orage.
published by Bell Labs:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and the author of major early works in combinatorics
Combinatorics
Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite or countable discrete structures. Aspects of combinatorics include counting the structures of a given kind and size , deciding when certain criteria can be met, and constructing and analyzing objects meeting the criteria ,...
, particularly Introduction to Combinatorial Analysis and Combinatorial Identities.
Life
Riordan was a graduate of Yale. In his early life he wrote a number of poems and essays and a book of short-stories, On the Make, published in 1929, and was Editor-in-Chief of Salient and The Figure in the Carpet, literary magazines published by The New School for Social ResearchThe New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
in New York. He married Mavis McIntosh, the well-known poet and literary agent.
Riordan's long professional career was at Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
, which he joined in 1926 (a year after its foundation) and where he remained, publishing over a hundred scholarly papers on combinatorial analysis, until he retired in 1968. He then joined the faculty at Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
as professor emeritus. A Festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
was published in his honor in 1978.
Throughout his life Riordan led an active literary life, with many distinguished friends such as Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.-Personal history:...
, William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
and A. R. Orage.
Tribute
From an interview with Neil SloaneNeil Sloane
Neil James Alexander Sloane is a British-U.S. mathematician. His major contributions are in the fields of combinatorics, error-correcting codes, and sphere packing...
published by Bell Labs:
- Even at the end of my first year as a graduate student at Cornell, in 1962, I managed to arrange a summer job at Bell Labs in Holmdel. This was still on minimal cost networks. During that summer I met another of my heroes, John Riordan, one of the great early workers in combinatorics. His book An Introduction to Combinatorial Analysis is a classic. He was working at Bell Labs in West Street in Manhattan at that time. One of my earliest papers, on a problem that came up in my thesis work, was a joint paper with him.
Selected publications
(book of 14 short-stories) (reissued in 1980; reprinted again in 2002 by Courier Dover Publications) translated into Russian in 1962. (reprinted with corrections: )External links
- Former Members of the Technical Staff in the mathematics group at Bell Laboratories.
- Books on discrete mathematics listed at an MAAMathematical Association of AmericaThe Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
site. - A history of mathematics at Bell Labs