Lars Ahlfors -- At the Summit of Mathematics

Lars Ahlfors -- At the Summit of Mathematics PDF

Author: Olli Lehto

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2015-06-26

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1470418460

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book tells the story of the Finnish-American mathematician Lars Ahlfors (1907-1996). He was educated at the University of Helsinki as a student of Ernst Lindelöf and Rolf Nevanlinna and later became a professor there. He left Finland permanently in 1944 and was professor and emeritus at Harvard University for more than fifty years. Already at the age of twenty-one Ahlfors became a well-known mathematician having solved Denjoy's conjecture, and in 1936 he established his world renown when he was awarded the Fields Medal, the "Nobel Prize in mathematics". In this book the description of his mathematics avoids technical details and concentrates on his contributions to the general development of complex analysis. Besides mathematics there is also a lot to tell about Ahlfors. World War II marked his life, and he was a colorful personality, with many interesting stories about him. Olli Lehto, the author of the book, first met Lars Ahlfors and his family as a young doctor at Harvard in 1950. Numerous meetings after that in various parts of the world led to a close friendship between them.

Meeting under the Integral Sign?: The Oslo Congress of Mathematicians on the Eve of the Second World War

Meeting under the Integral Sign?: The Oslo Congress of Mathematicians on the Eve of the Second World War PDF

Author: Christopher D. Hollings

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2020-04-08

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1470443538

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book examines the historically unique conditions under which the International Congress of Mathematicians took place in Oslo in 1936. This Congress was the only one on this level to be held during the period of the Nazi regime in Germany (1933–1945) and after the wave of emigrations from it. Relying heavily on unpublished archival sources, the authors consider the different goals of the various participants in the Congress, most notably those of the Norwegian organizers, and the Nazi-led German delegation. They also investigate the reasons for the absence of the proposed Soviet and Italian delegations. In addition, aiming to shed light onto the mathematical dimension of the Congress, the authors provide overviews of the nineteen plenary presentations, as well as their planning and development. Biographical information about each of the plenary speakers rounds off the picture. The Oslo Congress, the first at which Fields Medals were awarded, is used as a lens through which the reader of this book can view the state of the art of mathematics in the mid-1930s.

The Mathematical Legacy of Richard P. Stanley

The Mathematical Legacy of Richard P. Stanley PDF

Author: Patricia Hersh

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2016-12-08

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 1470427249

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Richard Stanley's work in combinatorics revolutionized and reshaped the subject. His lectures, papers, and books inspired a generation of researchers. In this volume, these researchers explain how Stanley's vision and insights influenced and guided their own perspectives on the subject. As a valuable bonus, this book contains a collection of Stanley's short comments on each of his papers. This book may serve as an introduction to several different threads of ongoing research in combinatorics as well as giving historical perspective.

A Dingo Ate My Math Book: Mathematics from Down Under

A Dingo Ate My Math Book: Mathematics from Down Under PDF

Author: Burkard Polster

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2017-12-27

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1470435217

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A Dingo Ate My Math Book presents ingenious, unusual, and beautiful nuggets of mathematics with a distinctly Australian flavor. It focuses, for example, on Australians' love of sports and gambling, and on Melbourne's iconic, mathematically inspired architecture. Written in a playful and humorous style, the book offers mathematical entertainment as well as a glimpse of Australian culture for the mathematically curious of all ages. This collection of engaging stories was extracted from the Maths Masters column that ran from 2007 to 2014 in Australia's Age newspaper. The maths masters in question are Burkard Polster and Marty Ross, two (immigrant) Aussie mathematicians, who each week would write about math in the news, providing a new look at old favorites, mathematical history, quirks of school mathematics—whatever took their fancy. All articles were written for a very general audience, with the intention of being as inviting as possible and assuming a minimum of mathematical background.

Divisors and Sandpiles: An Introduction to Chip-Firing

Divisors and Sandpiles: An Introduction to Chip-Firing PDF

Author: Scott Corry

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2018-07-23

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1470442183

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Divisors and Sandpiles provides an introduction to the combinatorial theory of chip-firing on finite graphs. Part 1 motivates the study of the discrete Laplacian by introducing the dollar game. The resulting theory of divisors on graphs runs in close parallel to the geometric theory of divisors on Riemann surfaces, and Part 1 culminates in a full exposition of the graph-theoretic Riemann-Roch theorem due to M. Baker and S. Norine. The text leverages the reader's understanding of the discrete story to provide a brief overview of the classical theory of Riemann surfaces. Part 2 focuses on sandpiles, which are toy models of physical systems with dynamics controlled by the discrete Laplacian of the underlying graph. The text provides a careful introduction to the sandpile group and the abelian sandpile model, leading ultimately to L. Levine's threshold density theorem for the fixed-energy sandpile Markov chain. In a precise sense, the theory of sandpiles is dual to the theory of divisors, and there are many beautiful connections between the first two parts of the book. Part 3 addresses various topics connecting the theory of chip-firing to other areas of mathematics, including the matrix-tree theorem, harmonic morphisms, parking functions, M-matrices, matroids, the Tutte polynomial, and simplicial homology. The text is suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students.

Modeling and Data Analysis: An Introduction with Environmental Applications

Modeling and Data Analysis: An Introduction with Environmental Applications PDF

Author: John B. Little

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2019-03-28

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1470448696

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Can we coexist with the other life forms that have evolved on this planet? Are there realistic alternatives to fossil fuels that would sustainably provide for human society's energy needs and have fewer harmful effects? How do we deal with threats such as emergent diseases? Mathematical models—equations of various sorts capturing relationships between variables involved in a complex situation—are fundamental for understanding the potential consequences of choices we make. Extracting insights from the vast amounts of data we are able to collect requires analysis methods and statistical reasoning. This book on elementary topics in mathematical modeling and data analysis is intended for an undergraduate “liberal arts mathematics”-type course but with a specific focus on environmental applications. It is suitable for introductory courses with no prerequisites beyond high school mathematics. A great variety of exercises extends the discussions of the main text to new situations and/or introduces new real-world examples. Every chapter ends with a section of problems, as well as with an extended chapter project which often involves substantial computing work either in spreadsheet software or in the R statistical package.

Wisdom Of Solomon, The: The Genius And Legacy Of Solomon Golomb

Wisdom Of Solomon, The: The Genius And Legacy Of Solomon Golomb PDF

Author: Beatrice A Golomb

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2023-07-07

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13: 9811234388

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Solomon Wolf Golomb left an unparalleled legacy of accomplishment and recognition for his work in the applications of mathematics to coding and communication theory. His legacy also includes a host of individuals whose lives and careers were immeasurably enriched by their interactions with him. The co-editors have attempted to collect many articles/essays in this volume, of a not-too-technical sort, by a representative collection of such individuals. Among their motivations is the wish to convince the reader of the incredibly prescient choice of his given name.The first section consists of three articles which have already appeared elsewhere, by noted experts in the fields where the majority of Sol's contributions lie — mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering. The second section consists of three articles by the co-editors in memory of and tribute to Sol. The third section contains 25-30 articles by Sol's family, friends, students, colleagues, etc. They cover a great range of topics and vary widely in length, technicality and other aspects. In the last section are contributions by Sol himself, covering various aspects of his career and interests, as well as other related material.