Bill Parry (mathematician)
| William (Bill) Parry | |
|---|---|
Bill Parry at Oberwolfach in 1968
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| Born |
3 July 1934 Coventry, West Midlands, UK |
| Died | 20 August 2006 (aged 72) Marton, Warwickshire, UK |
| Cause of death | Cancer exacerbated by MRSA |
| Residence | United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Mathematician |
| Known for | Ergodic theory and dynamical systems |
| Title | Professor of Mathematics Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Spouse(s) | Benita Teper |
| Children | Rachel Parry |
Professor William (Bill) Parry FRS (3 July 1934 – 20 August 2006) was an English mathematician. During his research career, he was highly active in the study of dynamical systems, and, in particular, ergodic theory, and made significant contributions to these fields. He is considered to have been at the forefront of the introduction of ergodic theory to the United Kingdom. He played a founding role in the study of subshifts of finite type, and his work on nilflows was highly regarded.
Bill Parry was born in Coventry in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom, the sixth of seven children. Although he failed the eleven-plus exam, Parry was persuaded by his mathematics teacher at Coventry Junior Technical School, specialising in metalwork and woodwork, to aim for university. To get appropriate tuition, he had to travel to Birmingham Technical College. He won a place at University College London. Following an MSc. at the University of Liverpool, he returned to London to study at Imperial College with Yael Dowker, obtaining his PhD. in 1960.
Having served in lecturing positions at Birmingham University and the University of Sussex, Parry was appointed to a readership at the recently created University of Warwick in 1968; his was the first appointment in analysis. Two years later, he gave a particularly well-received address at the Sixteenth International Congress of Mathematicians in Nice, France, and was promoted to professor.
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