Edward T. Wong Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-252

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers of Edward T. Wong document Wong's career as a teacher, advisor, researcher, and writer. The majority of the files concern Wong's career as a professor of mathematics at Oberlin College. The Instructional and Student Files series contains materials concerning the courses taught by Wong, grades and exams, student papers and projects, and letters of reference written for students. In addition, the Miscellaneous Professional Files include documentation related to Wong's positions as a visiting professor or research fellowship at other academic institutions. Series V. Writings Files illustrates the extent of Wong's research and writing skills, and his interest in finding solutions to mathematical problems. The Correspondence series primarily contains personal letters from friends and acquaintances. There are gaps in the date order of this series, as noted in the series description below. The Correspondence and Biographical Series concern the personal life of Edward Wong, but this a small portion of the collection (9 folders). Wong's service to Oberlin College (re: committees, etc.) is not well documented.

Dates

Creation: 1958 - 1990
Other: Date acquired: 1995 January 18

Creator

Wong, E. T. (Edward Tak-wah), 1924- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Certain materials are restricted for privacy reasons, as noted. Restricted material included in Series II, III, and IV.

Biographical Sketch

Edward Tak-Wah Wong was born in Hong Kong on 4 July 1924, the son of K.C. Wong and Pearl Tom. Wong lived for a time in Australia and then returned to China where he attended boarding school until the Sino-Japanese War and World War II disrupted the lives of his family. After the war, Wong somehow managed to travel to the United States and resided in San Francisco, California. There he worked (waiting on tables and parking and washing cars) and attended evening college, then he enrolled at the University of Washington after receiving financial aid made available through a special federal program to assist Chinese students.

He received his B.S., major in mathematics (1951), and his M.S., mathematics (1952) from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Rochester (1956). Wong's teaching career included a Teaching Fellowship in Mathematics, University of Rochester (1952-55); Math Instructor, University of Rochester (1955-56); Math Instructor, University of Connecticut (1956-57); Post-doctoral Fellow in Mathematics, Yale University (1956-57); and a faculty member of the Oberlin College Department of Mathematics (Assistant Professor, 1957-61; Associate Professor, 1961-67; and, Professor, 1967-1988). He served on the Research and Development Committee (1971-72 and 1978-79) and the Minorities Programs Committee (1974-76) at Oberlin College. Wong retired from Oberlin College in 1988, but returned to teach one math course during the Fall Semester of 1990.

Wong was a very active researcher and writer. He contributed articles to scholarly mathematics journals, provided more than 30 solutions to math problems for the American Mathematical Monthly, and refereed articles and reviewed books. Wong's writings focused on topics such as Self-Injective Rings, Linear Algebra, and the Moore-Penrose Inverses. Along with Robert R. Stoll, he co-authored Linear Algebra, a mathematics textbook published in 1968.

Wong made several trips to China as a visiting professor, including Tunghai University as a Shansi Faculty Fellow (1973-74), Fudan University (1980-81), and Zhongsan University (1983). In addition, he took sabbaticals to do research and lecturing in Japan (1963-64, 1968-69) and England (1968-69).

Wong was an advisor for more than 25 honors projects during his teaching career at Oberlin College. He helped many of his students continue their training in graduate programs and fellowship positions. Samuel Goldberg, emeritus professor of Mathematics, described Wong as an energetic teacher who helped many of his students and they, in turn, were very fond of him. Wong was considered the senior fellow among the Chinese members of the Oberlin community and he was always willing to assist them in any way possible. Goldberg added that he was a friendly, outgoing person who enjoyed teaching and discussing mathematics, but also liked fishing, gardening and tennis. (From the interview with Sam Goldberg and Goldberg's memorial minute of Edward Wong.)

Edward Wong was a member of the American Mathematical Society and Sigma Xi. He was married to Kazuko Moriwaki (b. 1932), who worked in the Oberlin College Library's Cataloging Department from 1977-1987. The Wongs had three sons, David, Stephen, and Kenneth. David Wong taught physics and chemistry at Oberlin High School. Stephen Wong is currently a Visiting Professor in the Physics Department at Oberlin College (1997).

Edward T. Wong died of cancer at his home in Oberlin on 26 December 1993.

Sources Consulted

Goldberg, Samuel, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics (interviewed by Roland Baumann, July 16, 1997).

Goldberg, Samuel, "Memorial Minute, Edward Tak-Wah Wong, Professor of Mathematics, 1924-1993", Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Vol. 90, No. 2, Summer 1994, pp. 45-46.

Wong, Edward T., faculty file, Alumni and Development Records (RG 28/3).

Note written by Kenneth M. Grossi.

Extent

2.20 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The Edward T. Wong Papers were received from Professor George Andrews, Oberlin College Department of Mathematics, in 1995. The collection was assigned accession number 1995/008.