Robert Thompson

Robert Charles Thompson (April 21, 1931 – December 10, 1995) was a Canadian-American mathematician, who gained an international reputation for his research on linear algebra and matrix theory.

Biography Thompson grew up near Vancouver, British Columbia. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1955 with a B.Sc. and in 1957 with an M.Sc. In 1960 he graduated from with a Ph.D. in mathematics from Caltech. His Ph.D. thesis Commutators in the Special and General Linear Groups was supervised by Olga Taussky-Todd. In 1961 the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society published a paper based upon his thesis. In the 1961 paper and in two subsequent 1962 papers, he settled several important open questions. From 1963 to 1966 Thompson was a faculty member at the University of British Columbia. UCSB's mathematics department gained fame for promoting research in linear algebra and matrix theory, influencing matrix research in Israel, Hong Kong, Portugal, Spain, and elsewhere. His research was honored with his appointment as lecturer for the 1988 Johns Hopkins Summer Lecture Series. and an editor of the SIAM Journal on Matrix Analysis and Applications.

Upon his death in 1995, Robert C. Thompson was survived by his wife Natalie. In 1996 he was posthumously awarded the Hans Schneider Prize in Linear Algebra of the ILAS.

Selected publications Articles

(over 190 citations)

(over 180 citations)

(over 270 citations)

1994