Person

Room, Thomas Gerald (Gerald) (1902 - 1986)

FAA FRS

Born
10 November 1902
St George, Camberwell, County of London, England
Died
2 April 1986
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Mathematician

Summary

Gerald Room was a mathematician particularly known for his profound insight into configurations in higher dimensional projective space and his general theory of the freedom of manifolds. His most influential publication was The geometry of determinantal loci (1938). He was Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Sydney from 1935 to 1968, having earlier studied and then taught at St John's College, Cambridge between 1920 and- -1935. Room was influential in course of mathematics in New South Wales both at university and secondary school level. As Professor he made continuous improvements in the syllabus and teaching standards. He was for a number of years Chief Mathematics Examiner for the High School Leaving Certificate and Chairman of the New South Wales Mathematics Syllabus Committee, during which time the curriculum was greatly revised.

The T. G. Room Award is made each year by the Mathematical Association of New South Wales to the highest-scoring student in the Higher School Certificate mathematics examination. Room was a founding member of the Australian Mathematical Society and the first Editor of its Journal.

Details

Chronology

Career position - Chairman, New South Wales Mathematics Syllabus Committee and Chief Mathematics Examiner for the High School Leaving Certificate, Australia
1923 -
Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Cambridge, England
1923 - 1935
Career position - Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Cambridge, England
1925 - 1927
Career position - Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Liverpool, England
1926 - 1928
Career position - Fellow, St Johns College, University of Cambridge, England
1928 - 1935
Career position - Lecturer in mathematics, University of Cambridge
1935 - 1968
Career position - Professor of Pure Mathematics, University of Sydney
1940 - 1941
Career position - Informal, secret military intelligence work based at the University of Sydney
1941
Career position - Military Intelligence Work, Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne (FRUMEL), Commonwealth of Australia and United States of America
1941
Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
1941
Award - Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal, Australian National Research Council
1942 - 1945
Career position - Military Intelligence Work, Central Bureau, Allied Command of the South-West Pacific Area
1952 - 1956
Career position - Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney
1952 - 1956
Career position - Member of the Senate, University of Sydney
1953 - 1954
Award - Petitioner for the Academy, Founding Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
1955 -
Award - Doctorate of Science (ScD), University of Cambridge, England
1955
Award - Doctor of Science (DSc), honoris causa, University of Cambridge
1956 - 1965
Career position - Member of Council, Australian Mathematical Society
1956 - 1986
Career position - Founding Member, Australian Mathematical Society
1959 - 1964
Career position - Editor, Australian Mathematical Society Journal
1960 - 1962
Career position - Member of Council, Australian Academy of Science
1960 - 1962
Career Position - President, Australian Mathematical Society
1960 - 1963
Career position - Member of the Senate, University of Sydney
1960 - 1965
Career position - Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney
1968 -
Award - T.G. Room Award, Given in his honor, Mathematical Association of New South Wales, Australia
1969
Career position - Part-time Lecturer, University of Sydney
1971
Career position - Staff Tutor, North West Region, Open University, England
1972 - 1973
Career position - Course Material Writer, Open University, England
1989
Award (posthumous) - Mathematics Library named in his honor, T.G. Room Library, University of Sydney

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

University of Sydney, Archives

  • Thomas Gerald Room - Records, 1926 - 1973, Acc. 1062; University of Sydney, Archives. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Butler, S. J.; Room, T. G., 'Obituary: Dansie Thomas Sawkins', Australian Journal of Science, 12 (6) (1950), 210-211. Details
  • Donovan, P.; and Mack, J., 'Sydney University, T. G. Room and codebreaking in WWII, part II', Australian Mathematical Society gazette, 29 (3) (2002), 141-8. Details
  • Donovan, P.; and Mack, J., 'Sydney University, T. G. Room and codebreaking in WWII, part I', Australian Mathematical Society gazette, 29 (2) (2002), 76-84. Details
  • Hirschfeld, J. W. P.; and Wall, G. E., 'Thomas Gerald Room 10 November 1902 - 2 April 1986', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 33 (1987), 574-601. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1987.0020. Details
  • Hirschfeld, J. W. P.; and Wall, G. E., 'Thomas Gerald Room 1902-1986', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (1) (1987), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9870710109. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Digital resources

Title
Thomas Gerald Room
Type
Image

Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

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