Philip J. Davis

For other persons named Philip Davis, see Philip Davis (disambiguation). Philip J. Davis (born 1923) is an American applied mathematician. He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is known for his work in numerical analysis and approximation theory, as well as his investigations in the history and philosophy of mathematics. Currently a Professor Emeritus from the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University, he earned his degrees in math... more

For other persons named Philip Davis, see Philip Davis (disambiguation). Philip J. Davis (born 1923) is an American applied mathematician. He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is known for his work in numerical analysis and approximation theory, as well as his investigations in the history and philosophy of mathematics. Currently a Professor Emeritus from the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University, he earned his degrees in mathematics from Harvard University (Ph.D., 1950; advisor, Ralph P. Boas, Jr.). He served briefly in an aerodynamics research position in the Air Force in World War II before joining the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology). He became Chief of Numerical Analysis there and worked on the well-known Abramowitz and Stegun Handbook of Mathematical Functions before joining Brown in 1963. He was awarded the Chauvenet Prize for mathematical writing in 1963 for an article on the gamma function, and has won... less