Rudy Horne | |
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![]() Rudy L. Horne, photographed by Aubrey Gemignani in 2016 | |
Born | Rudy Lee Horne |
Education | Crete-Monee High School |
Alma mater |
University of Colorado Boulder (PhD) University of Oklahoma |
Known for | Nonlinear optics Hidden Figures |
Scientific career | |
Institutions |
Morehouse College University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Florida State University California State University, East Bay |
Thesis | Collision-Induced Timing Jitter and Four-Wave Mixing in Wavelength-Division Multiplexing Soliton Systems (2001) |
Doctoral advisor | Mark J. Ablowitz [1] |
Rudy Lee Horne (1968 – 2017) was an American mathematician and professor of mathematics at Morehouse College. He worked on dynamical systems, including nonlinear waves. He was the mathematics consultant for the film Hidden Figures. [2]
Horne grew up in the south side of Chicago. [3] His father worked at Sherwin-Williams. [4] He graduated from Crete-Monee High School. [2] [5] He completed a double degree in mathematics and physics at the University of Oklahoma in 1991. [6] [3] He joined the University of Colorado Boulder for his postgraduate studies, earning a master's in physics in 1994 and in mathematics in 1996. He completed his doctorate, Collision induced timing jitter and four-wave mixing in wavelength division multiplexing soliton systems, in 2001 which was supervised by Mark J. Ablowitz. [1] [7] He was the first African American to graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Applied Mathematics. [8]
After completing his PhD, Horne had a position at the California State University, East Bay. [2] before working as postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with Chris Jones. [9] Horne joined Florida State University in 2005. [8] [10] Horne joined Morehouse College in 2010 and was promoted to associate professor of mathematics in 2015. [2] He continued to study four-wave mixing. [11] His work considered nonlinear optical phenomena. [9] [12] [13] He uncovered effects in parity-time symmetric systems. [14]
Horne was recommended to serve as a mathematics consultant for Hidden Figures by Morehouse College. [15] [16] He worked closely with Theodore Melfi ensured the actors knew how to pronounce "Euler's". [2] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] He spent four months working with 20th Century Fox. [8] In particular, Horne worked with Taraji P. Henson on the mathematics she required for her role as Katherine Johnson. [22] [23] He taught the cast how to get excited by mathematics. [24] His handwriting is on screen during a scene at the beginning of the film where Katherine Johnson solves a quadratic equation. [3] He appeared on the interview series In the Know. [25] Horne completed a Mathematical Association of America Maths Fest tour where he discussed the mathematics in Hidden Figures, focusing on the calculations that concerned Glenn's orbit around in 1962. [26] [27] He appeared on NPR's Closer Look. [28]
He died on December 11, 2017, after surgery for a torn aorta. [29] [30] [2] The University of Colorado Boulder established a Rudy Lee Horne Memorial Fellowship in his honour. [8] [31] He was described as a "rock star", inspiring generations of black students. [32] [22] He was awarded the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) lifetime achievement award posthumously in 2018, [33] and was recognized by Mathematically Gifted & Black as a Black History Month 2018 Honoree. [4]