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Died 27 May 2016, Dallas, Texas, United States | ||
Ivor Robinson (Oct 7, 1923 – May 27, 2016) was an American mathematical physicist, born and educated in England. He was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. When the school was still known as the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest and later the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies (1962-1969), Robinson was head of the Mathematics and Mathematical Physics division.
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Biography
Ivor Robinson was born to Max and Ada Robinson in Liverpool, England. His father came from Eastern Europe and began his life as an immigrant in England peddling rags. After WWII he was able to, after many trials, build a successful raincoat factory. His mother was a housewife. He had a brother three years his senior, Leon Robinson, and twin younger sisters, Hilda and Jean.
Of his early childhood very little is known. Years later he recalled a memory of it, speaking with a small wry smile about a specific argument he had with Leon which ended up with his right arm smashing through the family's glass greenhouse door and his wrist breaking. At school his teachers praised his messy handwriting, complimenting him for not lagging behind on his schoolwork even though his right hand was broken. They continued praising him until they realized he was a lefty.
He had two children from his first marriage. In 1967 he married Joanna Ryten, PhD in mathematics, who was at the time working with him in Dallas, and had two additional children. He lived in his own home in Dallas, TX, until he died.
Research and Scientific Work
His main area of research was general relativity theory, particularly exact solutions to Einstein's equations of gravitation. He contributed to the development of the Bel–Robinson tensor. Roger Penrose credited him as an important influence in the development of Twistor theory.
Books
Wolfgang Rindler and Andrzej Trautman, Gravitation and Geometry: A Volume in Honour of Ivor Robinson, 1989 ISBN 978-8870881424