Wrede, Robert Clinton, Jr. (1926-2011)
Date Updated
8-8-2019
Department
Mathematics
Academic Rank
Professor
Year Retired from SJSU
1994
Educational Background
Indiana University, 1956 Ph.D.
University of Cincinnati, 1950 Graduate Classes
Miami University (Ohio), 1950 MA
Miami University (Ohio), 1949 BS
Teaching Experience
San José State University, 1955-1994
Indiana University (T.A. & Fellow), 1951-1955
Miami University (Instructor), 1950-1951
Miami University (T.A.), 1949 -1950
Administrative and Professional Experience
Consultant:
I.B.M. 1957-1958 ,
Hunter’s Point Naval Radiation Lab. 1957;
Consultant (reviewer):
John Wiley & Sons 1961;
American Mathematical Monthly1961-1964 ;
SIAM Review 1967;
McGraw-Hill 1973 ;
Dover Publications 1973-1978 ;
Brooks/Cole 1979 ;
Wadsworth 1980.
Selected Publications
“N Dimensional Considerations of Basic Principles A and B of Einstein’s Unified Field Theory”, Tensor Society Journal. May 1958.
“Rotating Frames of Reference and the Vector Concept” , American Math.Monthly Col.67, No.10, 1960.
“Conjugate Diameters and the Special Theory of Relativity,” Mathematics Magazine, Nov. 1969. (abstract: Zentalblatt Fur Mathematik, 1970).
Text: Introduction to Vector and Tensor Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, 1963, Revised Paperback Edition published by Dover, 1972.
Text: Schaum’s Outlines, Advanced Calculus, Second Edition, Robert C. Wrede, Murray Spiegel, McGraw-Hill 2002.
Text: Insights Into Calculus, Book Surge 2007. Text : “Insights into Algebra” , Book Surge 2008.
Text : Insights Into Euclidean Geometry, Book Surge 2008.
Text: Schaum’s Outlines, Advanced Calculus, Third Edition, Robert C. Wrede, Murray Spiegel, McGraw-Hill, 2010.
Files
Personal Commentary
While working on my M.A. and Ph.D. degrees I taught at least half time and thus became comfortable in a teaching role. This was fortunate since upon arriving at SJSU (then called San Jose State College) I was offered the opportunity to teach a graduate course in “Tensor Analysis and Relativity” that had been requested by a small group of students from IBM, General Electric, etc. This exposure to a portion of the research community played a role in the direction of my career. I was able to teach a wide range of courses on the undergraduate level, and supplement that activity with graduate courses in Differential Geometry and Tensor Analysis, direct more than twenty masters theses, and maintain an Honors Program in Mathematics. It was the individual contact with students and the intellectual stimulation that made my work so attractive. It is unfortunate that such classes, small in number of participants but large in quality, are being eliminated in the name of efficiency.
As a former Marine in WW 2 I truly believed that it was my duty to participate and make things better for the students while adding an intellectual integrity of which we could be proud. It seemed this attitude extended to the whole University. In this vein I was a member of the Academic Senate for nine years. This included being Chairman of the Budget and Plant and Professional Standards Committees. In 1967-68 President Clarke asked me to chair the University Grievance Committee. This was a unique experience in that no systemwide grievance structure existed, hence we had both responsibility and authority, subject only to the agreement of the President. To this day I remain pleased that the decisions made benefitted the University.
In the late 60s student turmoil was generated by the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. The conflict on campus spread to athletics and because I was an Academic Senator with a background in sports I was asked (1969) to be chairman of “The Committee for the Formation of an Athletics Board” that would include students. Our proposal was adopted but later rescinded.
Presidency of the local chapter of the California State College Professors and the American Association of University Professors involved me in state wide politics. Heading the Martin Luther King Memorial fund in 1968 led to my appointment in 1968, along with President Clarke, to the San Jose Urban Coalition.
I enjoyed my years at SJSU and hope that in the future the pursuit of knowledge for purposes beyond that which is immediately applicable will again become fashionable. Past discoveries support today’s needs but what of the future?
Date Updated:11/09
On arrival in September of 1955, I was asked if I would teach a graduate course in Tensor Analysis and Relativity as requested by students who worked at IBM, General Electric, etc. As the Mathematics Department grew, I was able to teach a wide range of courses on the undergraduate level. Also, I sponsored Honors programs in mathematics; programs that I advocated and taught until my retirement. Graduate courses in Differential Geometry, tensor analysis, and relativity were the basis for my direction of more than 20 Masters theses. It was the individual contact with students and the intellectual stimulation that made these activities so attractive. It is sad that these classes of quality, but without large numbers of students, are presently being eliminated in the name of efficiency.
In the early '60s, I served 6 years on the University Academic Senate; and in a later decade 3 more years. This included chairman of the Professional Standards Committee, and of the Budget and Plant Committees. In 1967‑68, President Clarke requested that I chair the University Grievance Committee. This was a unique experience in that no system‑wide grievance structure existed; hence, we had both responsibility and authority subject only to the agreement of the President. To this day, I remain pleased that the decisions made benefitted the University.
In the late '60s, student turmoil was generated by the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement. The conflict on campus spread to athletics, and because I had a background in sports, I was made chairman in 1969 of a committee for the formation of an Athletics Board that would include students. Our proposal was adopted but later rescinded.
Presidency of the local chapter of the Association of the California State College Professors, and of the American Association of University Professors, involved me in state wide politics. Heading the Martin Luther King Memorial Fund in 1968 led to my appointment, along with President Clarke, to the San Jose Urban Coalition.
I have continued my writing in the areas of Relativity and Cosmology: perhaps for publication and surely for personal pleasure. I enjoyed my years at SJSU, and hope that once again the teaching of knowledge not immediately applicable may become fashionable. The past discoveries support today's society but what of the future?
Date Completed: 6/96
Adapted from: Biographies of Retired Faculty San Jose State University 1997: A Project of the Emeritus Faculty Association of San Jose State University. San Jose, CA: The University, 1997.