Hector Munro Macdonald ( Eng. Hector Munro Macdonald , January 19, 1865, Edinburgh , Scotland , UK - May 16, 1935, Aberdeen , Scotland , UK ) is a Scottish mathematician who specializes in the theory of special functions and the application of mathematical methods to solve electrodynamics problems.
| Hector Munroe MacDonald | |
|---|---|
| Hector Munro Macdonald | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | January 19, 1865 |
| Place of Birth | Edinburgh , Scotland , UK |
| Date of death | May 16, 1935 (aged 70) |
| Place of death | Aberdeen , Scotland , UK |
| A country |  Great Britain |
| Scientific field | maths |
| Place of work | Cambridge University Aberdeen University |
| Alma mater | Aberdeen University |
| Academic rank | Professor |
| Awards and prizes | member of the Royal Society of London Royal Medal ( 1916 ) [d] ( 1901 ) |
Biography
Hector Munroe MacDonald was born in Edinburgh on January 19, 1865 in the family of Annie Munro and Donald Macdonald . He studied at the Aberdeen Grammar School ( Aberdeen Grammar School , see also Literacy School ), and in 1882 entered the University of Aberdeen [1] .
At Aberdeen University, MacDonald studied mathematics. After graduating with honors in 1886, he received a Fullerton Scholarship ( Eng. Fullerton Scholarship ) and continued his studies at Clare College , University of Cambridge . In 1889, he graduated, taking fourth place in the mathematical exam " Tripos " ( fourth Wrangler ). In 1890, MacDonald was given a scholarship to work at Clare College, and in 1891 he received [1] .
In Cambridge, MacDonald first worked in the field of “pure” mathematics, and then switched to mathematical problems associated with electromagnetic radiation , and in 1901 received for his essay “Electric Waves” [1] .
In 1904, MacDonald became a professor of mathematics at the University of Aberdeen and moved from Cambridge to Aberdeen. There he lived and worked until the end of his life [1] .
In 1901, MacDonald was elected a member of the Royal Society of London , which in 1916 awarded him the Royal Medal . In 1905, he was also elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . In addition, MacDonald was a member of the London Mathematical Society , and in 1916-1918 - the president of this society [1] .
Scientific Results
MacDonald worked on asymptotic expansions of various functions, investigated the properties of Bessel functions - their zeros, as well as some integrals associated with them. Part of his work was devoted to spherical harmonics and Fourier series [1] .
By summing the series with Bessel functions, MacDonald was able to solve some problems associated with the diffraction of electric waves [1] .
The modified Bessel function of the second kind called the MacDonald function [2] .
See also
- Modified Bessel Functions
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 JJ O'Connor and EF Robertson. Hector Munro Macdonald (HTML). School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Date of treatment March 5, 2015.
- ↑ Eric W. Weisstein. Modified Bessel Function of the Second Kind (HTML). mathworld.wolfram.com. Date of treatment March 5, 2015.