Max Wyman

Born April 14, 1916 in Lethbridge; died Feb. 9, 1991

Occupation: Mathematician, university administrator

Contribution: Wyman was the first Alberta-born president of the University of Alberta and the first Jewish president of a Canadian university. He worked on university-level calculus while in high school. After attending U of A, he completed his PhD at Caltech. He worked at the National Research council and the University of Saskatchewan before returning to Alberta. In 1945, he wrote to Albert Einstein, who had completed a paper with E.G. Straus, pointing out a serious error — and adjusted the equations. He was the first to solve equations relating to unified field theory; his research attracted international attention. Wyman later became the first chair of the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

Notable: In addition to receiving academic awards while a student at the U of A, he won an Alberta junior golf championship.