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Watch: MIT students give longtime professor a standing ovation after his last lecture

Gilbert Strang, a world-renowned mathematics professor, has been at MIT — as a student and teacher — for 66 years.

MIT Professor Gilbert Strang stands in front of a chalkboard pointing to a formula
Gilbert Strang, an MIT mathematics professor, received a standing ovation after giving his last linear algebra lecture on Monday. Sandi Miller/MIT News

By Eli Curwin

1 minute to read

After 63 years teaching and over 10 million views on his online lectures, MIT professor Gilbert Strang received a standing ovation from his students Monday once he completed his last linear algebra lecture.

The mathematics professor graduated from MIT in 1955 and has since published several books on linear algebra and differential equations. He was one of the first professors to publish his lectures on the institute’s online open learning library OpenCourseWare, or OCW, and continues to fall within the top 10 most viewed lecturers at MIT.

In a video posted by the creators of MIT:REGRESSIONS, a documentary recounting the history of the institute, Strang’s linear algebra class can be seen giving the longtime professor a round of applause.

“Gil always knew just what to say,” MIT professor Alan Edelman said in a video played for students. “Whether you were a colleague right next door or a stranger that landed in the hallways, one feels that Gil is your old or new best friend.”

Strang stands in front of a chalkboard displaying a breakdown of his time at MIT. The mathematics professor spent three years as a student, two years as an instructor, and 61 years as a faculty member.
MIT:REGRESSIONS/Courtesy

Strang starting posting his lectures on OCW in 2002 and has been able to reach students across the world, according to MIT News. He has received over 10 million views on OCW and over 3 million views on YouTube, has published 12 textbooks in several languages.

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“With 61 years on the faculty in the math department, Gil Strang has been the longest serving faculty member in the history of the department,” professor Michel X. Goemans, head of the MIT Department of Mathematics, said in a statement. “He has had a tremendous impact on the teaching of mathematics to tens of thousands of students at MIT through his lectures, to countless of students at other academic institutions through his textbooks, and to millions of people all over the globe through his online lectures and digital media.”

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