History
The Department of Mathematics was established in 1875. The department is in the College of Arts and Science, the largest of Vanderbilt’s 10 colleges and schools. Following is a list of some important historical milestones of the department:
- The first Ph.D. degree in mathematics awarded by Vanderbilt was in 1953 to James Robert Wesson. The title of his dissertation was “Finite Plane Projective Geometries.” His adviser was Eugene Baylis Shanks.
- Vanderbilt’s first distinguished professor of mathematics, Bjarni Jónsson, was hired in 1966.
- In 1970, the Department of Applied Mathematics (housed in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering) merged into the Department of Mathematics.
- In 1971, the department moved to its current location in Stevenson Center 1 (depicted in the artwork below).
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WILLIAM H. SCHUERMAN – 1913-1922 |
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WILLIAM PINKERTON OTT – 1922-1925 |
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JOHN A. HYDEN – 1946-1956 |
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ERIK HEMMINGSEN – 1969-1970 |
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In Memoriam
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Richard Heisey |
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Richard F. Arenstorf (1929-2014) |
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Billy F. Bryant (1922-2014) |
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Bjarni Jónsson (1920-2016) |
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Charles S. Kahane (1934-2013) |
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John A. Kelingos (1936-1996) |
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Charles K. Megibben (1936-2010) |
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Lawrence T. (“Larry”) Ratner (1923-2000) |
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Eugene Baylis Shanks (1913-1992) |
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James Robert (“Bob”) Wesson (1921-2010) |
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Horace Edward Williams (1931-2018) |
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Vaughan Jones(1952-2020) |
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Emanuele DiBenedetto (1947-2021) |
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Mark Sapir (1957-2022) |
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Mary Ann Horn (1965-2024) |
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John Ahner (1945-2024) |