Herman Chernoff
Herman Chernoff | |
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 Chernoff speaking in New York on October 6, 2015 | |
| Born | July 1, 1923 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 6, 2026 (aged 103) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Studentization in testing of hypotheses (1948) |
| Abraham Wald | |
Notable students | |
Herman Chernoff (July 1, 1923 – July 6, 2026) was an American applied mathematician, statistician and physicist. He was a professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stanford, MIT, and at Harvard University.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Herman 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
[edit]Chernoff 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 and death
[edit]Chernoff 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] and died in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 6, 2026, at the age of 103.[13]
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.
- 1 2 "Herman Chernoff". MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- 1 2 "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". 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.
- ↑ "Herman Chernoff". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
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
- 1923 births
- 2026 deaths
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century American physicists
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century American physicists
- Mathematicians from New York (state)
- Brown University alumni
- Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
- Fellows of the American Statistical Association
- Harvard University faculty
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Presidents of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics
- Townsend Harris High School alumni
- American men centenarians
- Jewish American scientists
- American mathematical statisticians
- Jewish centenarians
- 20th-century American statisticians
- 21st-century American statisticians