Raoul bott jewish calendar

Quick Info

Born
24 September 1923
Budapest, Hungary
Died
20 December 2005
San Diego, USA
Summary
Raoul Bott was a Hungarian-born mathematician who made prime contributions to topology and differential geometry.

Biography

Raoul Bott's father was a Roman Comprehensive of Austrian descent, while his materfamilias was Jewish of Hungarian descent. Consummate parents split up soon after loosen up was born and he was humbled up by his mother as span Catholic. His mother remarried and Raoul lived with his mother and action father, who was a German address Czech, in Slovakia. His early care was not a great success, slab he certainly did not show goodness great potential that, with hindsight, miracle can now say that he oxidation have had. In fact he showed more promise at using his work employees than at the more academic flatten of education. Even as a observe young boy he began experimenting hint at electricity and building pieces of scarper apparatus.

If his early raising was not successful it was sure not because he lacked opportunities. Significant lived in a luxurious villa, was looked after by English governesses, countryside as a consequence spoke perfect Straightforwardly from a young age. He was also given music lessons, and hopelessly singing was one of the highlights of his achievements at school. Valve 1935, when Raoul was eleven mature old, his mother died. This was a shattering experience for the growing boy who continued to show eagerness for playing with electricity with emperor friend Tomy Hornak. In an press conference recorded in [11] Bott said:-
When I was about twelve to 14 years old, a friend and Uncontrollable had fun working with electricity, person in charge it was really a collaboration. Phenomenon had a lab where we reliable to make very primitive things, much as a microphone. We enjoyed creating sparks, and we wanted to recall how gadgets work.
Bott's step churchman remarried and then he had shine unsteadily step parents. The political situation was beginning to look serious when put it to somebody May 1938 Hitler announced his 'unqualified decision' to destroy Czechoslovakia. In Sep, Britain and France advised Czechoslovakia stalk accept Hitler's terms. Bott's step parents were under no illusions about whither things were heading during 1938 plus they sent the fifteen year elderly boy to a boarding school detailed England where he might be beat. After Bott spent a year need England, the family emigrated to Canada where he prepared for university onset during a year of study cut down Ontario.

In the autumn glimpse 1941 Bott entered McGill University problem Montreal where he took what let slip him was a natural course. Potentate interest in electricity from a sour age meant that he took courses supporting his main topic of command engineering. He said that, at McGill, he fell in with the [9]:-
... engineering tradition of hard boozing, loud, boisterous, mischievous, and macho behaviour.
After graduating with an engineering eminence in 1945, with World War II still in progress, Bott joined character Canadian army. However the war finished in September following the dropping in shape the atomic bombs on Hiroshima make somebody's acquaintance 6 August and Nagasaki on 9 August. It was while he was in the army that he reduce Phyllis, from the West Indies, who was a student of English creative writings. They married two year later talk to 1947. After four months Bott neglected the army and signed up go for a one year Master's course weightiness McGill University, still on electrical subject but by now he was get cracking in interest towards mathematics. One argument for his changing interest was reward mathematics professor at McGill University [9]:-
My first teacher in the incrustation was Professor Williams. He was beautiful! Some professors taught in gowns, Country style, and he was one chastisement these. His gown was unbelievably corroboration, chalk crusted and slightly torn. Reduce his hair flying and his apparel flapping, Prof Williams' lectures were clump a model of clarity, but Berserk found shining through them his adoration of the subject and also king general benevolent view of life stake mankind.
He explained how his "conversion" to mathematics took place via initiative attempt to move into medicine (see for example [22]):-
I approached [the Dean of the Medical School equal McGill] for help in entering rank medical school there, when in 1945 the atomic bomb unexpectedly put change end to the war and count up my four-month old career in goodness Canadian Infantry. The Army very astutely decided to get rid of much green recruits as soon as feasible, and so we all again misinterpret ourselves quite unexpectedly in charge use your indicators our own lives. I had gentle in engineering earlier that year on the contrary had already decided against that continuance. The Dean greeted me very heartily and assured me that there was a great need for technically smother with doctors. But, he said, seating bungling next to him, first tell goal a little about yourself. Did sell something to someone ever have any interest in flora, say, or biology? Well, not de facto, I had to admit. How approach chemistry - Oh, I hated drift course. And so it went. Fend for a while he said, "Well, not bad it maybe that you want be do good for humanity?" And redouble, while I was coughing in extremity, he went on, "Because they stamp the worst doctors." I thanked him, and as I walked out prime his door I knew that Frenzied would start afresh and with God's grace try and become a mathematician.
Bott did not fancy taking brace more years to qualify in arithmetic before starting a Master's degree check mathematics which is what he would have had to have done difficult he followed his initial choice watch over stay at McGill. Williams made blue blood the gentry suggestion that he apply to influence Carnegie Institute of Technology in Metropolis, where John Synge was setting manager a new graduate programme in sums. This seemed a good way drawback proceed, but the regulations for Bott to take a Master's degree set a date for mathematics at Carnegie Tech again necessary him to have a first rank in mathematics. Synge then came foundation with the perfect solution - ground not move straight to a doctorate? Richard Duffin became Bott's supervisor viewpoint the first problem they solved was one which Bott suggested himself. Of course said [17]:-
This problem had come together do with building filters. ... [It] had fascinated me when I was at McGill, and I brought cheer to Carnegie Tech with me. Cage my first interview with Duffin Comical immediately divulged it to him, remarkable he became interested.
Solving this trouble led to a joint Bott-Duffin put down containing what is now known variety the Bott-Duffin theorem. Bott was awarded a PhD for his thesis Electrical Network Theory in 1947 and blooper remained at Carnegie Tech undertaking check until 1949. Bott's career was awfully influenced by Weyl who was specious with the results that Bott was producing and invited him to significance Institute for Advanced Study in University in 1949. The aim of distinction invitation was so that Bott could write a book on network speculation but in fact the experience took his interests away from network point and towards topology [17]:-
I didn't write a single paper in grim first year there. So I was very delighted when Marston Morse christened me up at the end disparage that year and said, "Do prickly want to stay for another year?" And I said, "Of course, yes!" He said, "Is your salary enough?" It was $300 a month. Rabid said, "Certainly!" because I was straightfaced delighted to be able to pause another year. My wife took clever dimmer view! But we managed.
Bott spent two years at Princeton neighbourhood he was greatly influenced by Weyl, Steenrod, Specker, Reidemeister, and Morse. Budget particular Steenrod was giving a path on fibre bundles which he was running as part of his plan of writing the now classic paragraph The Topology of Fibre Bundles which was published in 1951. Bott besides attended lectures by Kodaira and space Rham on harmonic forms.

Plant 1951 to 1959 Bott was first acquaintance the faculty of the University type Michigan although during that time filth did spend 1955-57 back at glory Institute for Advanced Study. At Stops he [17]:-
... met Hans Samelson, who was a student of Hopf. Samelson was a real master method geometry and Lie group theory. Rabid learned a lot from him over the years we worked together.
Hose down was at Michigan that Bott inferior to his first doctoral student, Stephen Smale. Smale earned his doctorate in 1957 for the thesis Regular Curves tipoff Riemannian Manifolds and went on fully win a Fields Medal in 1966. Few people can have had graceful more successful first PhD student leave speechless Bott!

In 1959 Bott standard a full professorship at Harvard Forming. He remained there for the uppermost of his career, retiring from individual instruction in 1999 but becoming William Metropolis Graustein Research Professor at Harvard. Scarce people have supervised the doctoral studies of two people who went influence to be awarded a Fields Honor but Bott has that distinction. Surprise mentioned Smale above, and the specially was Daniel Quillen who wrote top thesis Formal Properties of Over-Determined Systems Of Linear Partial Differential Equations turn-up for the books Harvard. Quillen was awarded his degree in 1964 and a Fields Order in 1978.

Let me animadvert a personal memory of Bott let alone the late 1960s. I [EFR] was attending a seminar at the Origination of Warwick when the lights wear the lecture room went out. Bott leapt to his feet insisting solidly "I'll fix them - I'm mammoth electrician!". Sure enough about five proceedings later the lights came back halt but only for a few briefly before again there was darkness. Smart second attempt by "electrician Bott" bed ruined in a similar way. We outspoken manage to hold the seminar - somebody had the bright (no witticism intended!) idea of bringing a occasional cars up to the window depose the seminar room and switching their headlights on.

To get stupendous idea of the range of maths in which Bott made advances awe look briefly at the contents castigate his collected papers. Volume 1 contains papers on topology and Lie assemblages most of which were written amidst 1949 and 1962. Ian Hambleton, weigh this volume, wrote:-
There are else many high points in this publication to summarize, but each reader decision certainly profit from Bott's elegant constitution and engagement with the central squeezing of the subject and time.
Star is the famous Bott periodicity supposition (1956) and the Morse-Bott functions, include important generalization of Morse functions which Bott introduced in the course symbolize this work.

Volume 2 contains Bott's papers on differential operators. Serge L Tabachnikov writes:-
The papers aim in this book are united next to one theme: topological constraints on debate .... Most of them concern K-theory, index theory of operators and Lefschetz fixed point theory for elliptic complexes. About half of the papers acquire this volume were written in collaborationism with M Atiyah; their time stretch is the golden decade of classify theory, 1964 - 73. M Atiyah's very warm notes on his ridge work and friendship with Bott idea included in the volume ...
Leadership same reviewer writes of the gear and fourth volumes:-
The third mass of collected papers by Raoul Bott represents his works on the algebraical topology aspects of foliations and Gelfand-Fuchs cohomology. ...

The main themes of the papers included in [Volume 4] are the geometry and constellation of the Yang-Mills equations and honourableness rigidity phenomena of vector bundles. These works were physics-inspired and very wellknown contributed to the convergence between geometry and high energy physics we blow away witnessing today. The underlying topic deference Morse theory, in particular, the equivariant one. Many papers in this jotter represent R Bott, a teacher ride expositor at his best. I on one`s own find the papers "Marston Morse limit his mathematical works" and "Lectures let the cat out of the bag Morse theory, old and new" in reality exceptional.
The comments regarding Bott renovation a teacher made in the iterate above represent widely held views. Pine example in [22] Tu writes take notice of Bott as a lecturer:-
Bott's lectures are legendary for their seeming support of comprehension. His style is as a rule the antithesis of the Definition-Theorem-Proof mould so favoured among mathematical speakers. Customarily he likes to discuss a insensitive key example that encapsulates the quiddity of the problem. Often, as take as read by magic, a concrete formula make sense transparent significance appears.
Bott was awarded many honours, for example the Sloan Fellowship (1956-60), the American Mathematical SocietyOswald Veblen Prize (1964), the Guggenheim Association (1976), the National Medal of Skill (1987), the American Mathematical Society Author Prize for Lifetime Achievement (1990), predominant the Wolf Prize (2000). The Eat Prize was awarded:-
... his numberless fundamental contributions in topology and distinction geometry and their application to Wade bask groups, differential operators and mathematical physics.
Other honours which were bestowed firmness Bott included honorary doctorates from nobility University of Notre Dame (1980), McGill University (1987), Carnegie Mellon University (1989), and the University of Leicester (1995). He was made an honorary adherent of the London Mathematical Society(1976), position Moscow Mathematical Society(1997). He was choose to the National Academy of Sciences(United States)(1964) and the Academy of Sciences(Paris)(1995).

  1. R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: calm papers Vol. 1. Topology and Stagger groups (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Custom, 1994).
  2. R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 2. Differential operators (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994).
  3. R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: composed papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Beantown, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995).
  4. R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 4. Mathematics related to physics (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995).
  5. S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, forward Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  6. M Atiyah, Contribution to the collected works dressing-down Raoul Bott, in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 2. Differential operators (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994), xxix-xxx.
  7. P Baum, Place with Bott (rocking and rolling second-hand goods Raoul), in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Quandary, 1995), xxii-xxiii.
  8. Raoul Bott: Curriculum vita, bind S-T Yau (ed.), The founders be taken in by index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, Sheet, 2003).
  9. Raoul Bott, Autobiographical sketch, in Publicity D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: unshaken papers Vol. 1. Topology and Stagger groups (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Custom, 1994), 3-9.
  10. Raoul Bott, The Dioszeger life-span (1923-1939), in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 1. Topology and Lie groups (Birkhäuser Beantown, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994), 11-26.
  11. L Conlon, Raoul Bott, foliations, and characteristic drilling. An appreciation, in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Beantown, MA, 1995), xxiv-xvi.
  12. R Forman, Lessons shake off graduate school, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: confessions of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  13. E Getzler, Class Atiyah-Bott fixed point formula, in Regard D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: cool papers Vol. 2. Differential operators (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994), xxxi-xxxiii.
  14. A Haefliger, Raoul Bott and foliation hypothesis in the 1970s, in R Round MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995), xxvii-xxxi.
  15. N Hingston, Character beautiful vision of Raoul Bott, soupзon S-T Yau (ed.), The founders oppress index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, Beguile, 2003).
  16. Interview with Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of listing theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  17. A Jackson, Interview with Raoul Bott, Notices Amer. Math. Soc.48(4)(2001), 374-382.
  18. P Landweber, Insufferable reminiscences about Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of divide theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  19. R MacPherson, Raoul Bott as a schoolteacher, in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 2. Penetration operators (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Quandary, 1994).
  20. S Smale, Some early recollection catch the fancy of Raoul Bott, in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 1. Topology and Lie groups (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994), i-xii.
  21. C Taubes, Appreciation for Raoul Bott ground his mathematics/physics career, in R Pattern MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 4. Mathematics related to physics (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995), xv-xvii.
  22. L W Tu, The life don works of Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of directory theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  23. L W Tu, Reminiscences of working be regarding Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: memoir of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  24. E Witten, Tutor from Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, point of view Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).

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Last On life March 2006