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Thomas J. Osler
Osler at whiteboard in 2020
Born(1940-04-26)April 26, 1940
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedMarch 26, 2023(2023-03-26) (aged 82)
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsRowan University

Thomas Joseph Osler (April 26, 1940 – March 26, 2023) was an American mathematician, national champion distance runner, and author.

Early life and education

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Born in 1940 in Camden, New Jersey,[1] Osler was a graduate of Camden High School in 1957 and then studied physics at Drexel University, graduating in 1962.[2][3] He completed his PhD at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University,[4] in 1970. His dissertation, Leibniz Rule, the Chain Rule, and Taylor's Theorem for Fractional Derivatives, was supervised by Samuel Karp.[5]

Career

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Osler taught at Saint Joseph's University and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[6] before joining the mathematics department at Rowan University in New Jersey in 1972;[7] he was a full professor at Rowan University until his death.[4]

In mathematics, Osler is best known for his work on fractional calculus.[8][9][10] He also gave a series of product formulas for that interpolate between the formula of Viète and that of Wallis.[11]

In 2009, the New Jersey Section of the Mathematical Association of America gave him their Distinguished Teaching Award.[12][13] A mathematics conference was held at Rowan University in honor of his 70th birthday in 2010.[6]

Running

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Osler won three national Amateur Athletic Union championships at 25 km (1965), 30 km and 50 mi (1967).[14][15] Osler won the 1965 Philadelphia Marathon, finishing the race in freezing-cold weather in a time of 2:34:07.[16]

Osler during 50-mile track race at Fort Meade in 1975

Osler was involved in the creation of the Road Runners Club of America with Olympian Browning Ross; together they were elected as co-secretaries in 1959[17] and were among the four first official elected officers of the newly formed club.[18] He served on the Amateur Athletic Union Standards Committee in 1979.[19] He has been credited with helping to popularize the idea of walk breaks among US marathon runners.[1][3]

In 1980, Osler was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of fame.[17][20]

Running publications

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Osler was the author of several books and booklets on running:

  • Guide to Long Distance Running (a 20-page booklet coauthored with Edward Dodd) was published in 1965 by the South Jersey Track Club.[21]
  • The Conditioning of Distance Runners (a 29-page booklet) was published in 1967 by the Long Distance Log.[1][3][21] It was reprinted in 1984–1985 in Runner's World magazine[22][23] and reprinted with a new foreword by Amby Burfoot in 2019.[24]
  • Serious Runner's Handbook: Answers to Hundreds of your Running Questions (187 pages) was published by World Publications in 1978.[25]
  • Ultramarathoning: The Next Challenge (299 pages, coauthored with Edward Dodd) was also published by World Publications, in 1979.[26]

Personal life and death

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Osler was a resident of Glassboro, New Jersey.[12]

Osler died on March 26, 2023, at the age of 82.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Benyo, Richard; Henderson, Joe (2002). ""Tom Osler"". Running Encyclopedia. Human Kinetics. ISBN 0736037349.
  2. ^ "It All Adds Up: Running, teaching and math". Rowan Today. Rowan University. September 16, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Englehart, Richard (September 2008). "Like a Cat Chases Mice". Marathon & Beyond.
  4. ^ a b "Tom Osler, PhD". Faculty and Staff. Rowan University Mathematics Department. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Thomas J. Osler at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  6. ^ a b "Oslerfest: Prominent mathematicians to pay tribute to legendary Rowan prof". Rowan Today. Rowan University. April 12, 2010.
  7. ^ "Osler honored for distinguished teaching by Mathematical Association of America". Rowan Today. Rowan University. April 17, 2009.
  8. ^ Yang, Xiao-Jun; Gao, Feng; Ju, Yang (2020). "Section 2.3: Osler fractional calculus". General Fractional Derivatives with Applications in Viscoelasticity. Academic Press. pp. 107–111. ISBN 9780128172094.
  9. ^ Almeida, Ricardo (2019). "Further properties of Osler's generalized fractional integrals and derivatives with respect to another function". The Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematics. 49 (8): 2459–2493. doi:10.1216/RMJ-2019-49-8-2459. hdl:10773/27488. MR 4058333. S2CID 214139065.
  10. ^ Nishimoto, Katsuyuki (1977). "Osler's cut and Nishimoto's cut". Journal of the College of Engineering of Nihon University, Series B. 18: 9–13. MR 0486359.
  11. ^ Arndt, Jörg; Haenel, Christoph (2001). "12.8 Viète ✕ Wallis = Osler". π Unleashed. Berlin Heidelberg New York: Springer-Verlag. pp. 160–162. ISBN 3-540-66572-2.
  12. ^ a b Shryock, Bob (May 7, 2009). "Running Man". South Jersey Times.
  13. ^ "New Jersey Section Archives". Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "United States Champions (with Local Connections)". Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  15. ^ United States Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  16. ^ "Osler Captures Phila. Marathon", Asbury Park Press, December 27, 1965. Accessed November 24, 2020. "Philadelphia – Tom Osler of the South Jersey Track Club, 25-year-old New York University graduate student from Camden, N.J., scored an easy victory in the Ruthrauff Marathon race yesterday through Fairmount Park. Osier braved sub-freezing temperatures and stiff winds to cover the 26 miles, 385 yards in two hours, 34 minutes and seven seconds."
  17. ^ a b "History of Road Runners Club of America" (PDF). Road Runners Club of America. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "50th Anniversary Report". Road Runners Club of America. December 15, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  19. ^ "Pertinent Trivia" (PDF). Measurement News (88): 14. March 1988.
  20. ^ "Distance Running History". Road Runner's Club of America. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Morison, Ray Leon (June 1975). An Annotated Bibliography of Track and Field Books Published in the United States Between 1960–1974 (PDF) (Master's thesis). San Jose State University. pp. 23, 33 – via Education Resources Information Center.
  22. ^ Osler, Tom (December 1984). "The Conditioning of Distance Runners (part 1)". Runner's World: 52–57, 87.
  23. ^ Osler, Tom (January 1985). "The Conditioning of Distance Runners (part 2)". Runner's World: 44–47, 80.
  24. ^ Osler, Thomas J. (1967). The Conditioning of Distance Runners (2019 ed.). Y42K Publishing. ISBN 9781710036725.
  25. ^ Osler, Tom (1978). Serious Runner's Handbook: Answers to Hundreds of Your Running Questions. Mountain View, California, USA: World Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-89037-126-1. Briefly reviewed in "Books". The Marine Corps Gazette. 1978. pp. 57–60; see in particular p. 59.
  26. ^ Osler, Tom; Dodd, Ed (1979). Ultramarathoning: The Next Challenge. Mountain View, California, USA: World Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-89037-169-5. See also Edwards, Sally (September 1983). "Ultramarathoning—A Dying Sport". UltraRunning Magazine. The book Ultramarathoning by Tom Osler and Ed Dodd had a shelf life of about 2 years, with 6,000 copies printed before the publisher (World Publications) discontinued it.
  27. ^ "Thomas J. Osler". South Jersey Times. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via Legacy.com.
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