Thomas J. Osler

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox scientist

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

Early life and education

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

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 π 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

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

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

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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Template:Footer US NC 25K run Men Template:Footer US NC 30K run Men Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Template:Cite book
  2. ↑ Template:Cite web
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Template:Cite magazine
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Template:Cite web
  5. ↑ Template:Mathgenealogy
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Template:Cite web
  7. ↑ Template:Cite web
  8. ↑ Template:Cite book
  9. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  10. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  11. ↑ Template:Cite book
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Template:Cite news
  13. ↑ Template:Cite web
  14. ↑ Template:Cite web
  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. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Template:Cite web
  18. ↑ Template:Cite web
  19. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  20. ↑ Template:Cite web
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Template:Cite thesis
  22. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  23. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  24. ↑ Template:Cite book
  25. ↑ Template:Cite book Briefly reviewed in Template:Cite magazine
  26. ↑ Template:Cite book See also Template:Cite magazine
  27. ↑ Template:Cite web
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