In Memoriam: Mizan Rahman
نویسنده
چکیده
Mizan Rahman was born on September 16, 1932 in East Bengal, India. Mizan studied at the University of Dhaka where he obtained his B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Physics in 1953 and his M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics in 1954. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from Cambridge University in 1958, and an M.A. in Mathematics from Cambridge University in 1963. He was a senior lecturer at the University of Dhaka from 1958 to 1962. Mizan decided to go abroad for his Ph.D. He went to the University of New Brunswick in Canada in 1962 and received his Ph.D. in 1965 with a thesis on kinetic theory of plasma using singular integral equations techniques. The traditional British applied mathematics curriculum included many subjects which nowadays will be considered theoretical physics. This was the case in many former British colonies including India. After obtaining his Ph.D., Mizan became an assistant professor of Mathematics at Carleton University. He rose through the ranks of associate professor, full professor and upon his retirement he became professor emeritus at Carleton University. He was designated as a Distinguished Research Professor after his retirement. He unexpectedly passed away in Ottawa on January 5, 2015 at the age of 82. The book Theory and Applications of Special Functions [8] from 2005 is dedicated to Mizan Rahman, and originated from a special session at the American Mathematical Society Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, January 2003, organized by Mourad Ismail. In particular, the book contains many contributions on special functions, the main research subject of Mizan Rahman after his switch from theoretical physics to mathematics. In the introductory paper several recollections of Mizan and his work can be read. In particular, Michael Hoare’s recollection of this switch to mathematics can be found as well as some reminiscences of his sons, Babu and Raja. Also included in [8] are two papers that Mizan wrote jointly with George Gasper. The first paper, 109 in the list below, is on multivariable biorthogonal polynomials and the second one, 110 in the list below, on multivariable Askey–Wilson polynomials. The first paper in [8] contains a list of Mizan Rahman’s publications up to 2002, see 2b) on [8, p. xx], of exactly 100 papers and we have updated this list. More information on Mizan, such as interviews and pictures, can be found at the webpage mentioned in the footnote to [6]. One of Mizan’s most influential post-2002 publications is the second edition of Basic Hypergeometric Series, which he coauthored with George Gasper. The subject of basic hypergeometric series goes back to the 18th century and to mathematicians such as Euler and Heine. The subject has seen an enormous boost over the last three decades, and it has been seen to be intimately related to various subjects, e.g. combinatorics, partition theory, number theory,
منابع مشابه
Some Systems of Multivariable Orthogonal Askey-wilson Polynomials
X iv :m at h/ 04 10 24 9v 1 [ m at h. C A ] 1 0 O ct 2 00 4 Some Systems of Multivariable Orthogonal Askey-Wilson Polynomials George Gasper* and Mizan Rahman† Abstract In 1991 Tratnik derived two systems of multivariable orthogonal Wilson polynomials and considered their limit cases. q-Analogues of these systems are derived, yielding systems of multivariable orthogonal Askey-Wilson polynomials ...
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We prove a summation formula for a bilateral series whose terms are products of two basic hypergeometric functions. In special cases, series of this type arise as matrix elements of quantum group representations.
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Eigenfunctions of the Askey-Wilson second order q-difference operator for 0 < q < 1 and |q| = 1 are constructed as formal matrix coefficients of the principal series representation of the quantized universal enveloping algebra Uq(sl(2,C)). The eigenfunctions are in integral form and may be viewed as analogues of Euler’s integral representation for Gauss’ hypergeometric series. We show that for ...
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We find the raising and lowering operators for orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle introduced by Szegő and for their four parameter generalization to 4φ3 biorthogonal rational functions on the unit circle. Running title: Ladder Operators. 1990 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 33D45, Secondary 30E05.
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