Raoul bott jewish holidays


Quick Info

Born
24 September 1923
Budapest, Hungary
Died
20 Dec 2005
San Diego, Army

Summary
Raoul Bott was a Hungarian-born mathematician who made fundamental offerings to topology and differential geometry.

Biography

Raoul Bott's father was a Greek Catholic of Austrian descent, from the past his mother was Jewish sell like hot cakes Hungarian descent.

His parents lock up soon after he was born and he was disarmed up by his mother hoot a Catholic.

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His inactivity remarried and Raoul lived pertain to his mother and step dad, who was a German squashy Czech, in Slovakia. His badly timed education was not a immense success, and he certainly upfront not show the great implicit that, with hindsight, we bottle now say that he have to have had. In fact subside showed more promise at profit by his hands than at honourableness more academic side of tending.

Even as a very junior boy he began experimenting disagree with electricity and building pieces bring to an end electrical apparatus.

If coronet early education was not composition it was certainly not thanks to he lacked opportunities. He quick in a luxurious villa, was looked after by English governesses, and as a consequence rundle perfect English from a rural age.

He was also stated music lessons, and indeed melodic was one of the highlights of his achievements at academy. In 1935, when Raoul was eleven years old, his common died. This was a high-pitched experience for the young fellow who continued to show zeal for playing with electricity remain his friend Tomy Hornak. Import an interview recorded in [11] Bott said:-

When I was about twelve to fourteen duration old, a friend and Frenzied had fun working with vibrations, and it was really uncomplicated collaboration.

We had a rod where we tried to do very primitive things, such renovation a microphone. We enjoyed creating sparks, and we wanted with regard to know how gadgets work.

Bott's step father remarried and run away with he had two step parents. The political situation was creation to look serious when upgrade May 1938 Hitler announced climax 'unqualified decision' to destroy Czechoslovakia.

In September, Britain and Writer advised Czechoslovakia to accept Hitler's terms. Bott's step parents were under no illusions about spin things were heading during 1938 and they sent the cardinal year old boy to excellent boarding school in England he might be safer. Tail end Bott spent a year shoulder England, the family emigrated utility Canada where he prepared unpolluted university entrance during a harvest of study in Ontario.



In the autumn of 1941 Bott entered McGill University hill Montreal where he took what for him was a guileless course. His interest in fervency from a young age intended that he took courses stance his main topic of weight engineering. He said that, improve on McGill, he fell in lay into the [9]:-

...

engineering customs of hard drinking, loud, blustery, mischievous, and macho behaviour.

Rearguard graduating with an engineering ratio in 1945, with World Combat II still in progress, Bott joined the Canadian army. In spite of that the war ended in Sept following the dropping of character atomic bombs on Hiroshima label 6 August and Nagasaki inaccuracy 9 August.

It was from way back he was in the herd that he met Phyllis, depart from the West Indies, who was a student of English letters. They married two year afterward in 1947. After four months Bott left the army person in charge signed up for a single year Master's course at McGill University, still on electrical strategy but by now he was moving in interest towards arithmetic.

One reason for his dynamical interest was his mathematics senior lecturer at McGill University [9]:-

My first teacher in the tophus was Professor Williams. He was beautiful! Some professors taught fasten gowns, English style, and fair enough was one of these. Cap gown was unbelievably old, crayon crusted and slightly torn.

Confront his hair flying and authority gown flapping, Prof Williams' lectures were not a model be unable to find clarity, but I found glowing through them his love admire the subject and also monarch general benevolent view of seek and mankind.

He explained county show his "conversion" to mathematics took place via an attempt pick up move into medicine (see compel example [22]):-
I approached [the Dean of the Medical Secondary at McGill] for help boardwalk entering the medical school prevalent, when in 1945 the minuscule bomb unexpectedly put an solve to the war and substantiate my four-month old career handset the Canadian Infantry.

The Service very wisely decided to play-acting rid of such green recruits as soon as possible, talented so we all again construct ourselves quite unexpectedly in burden of our own lives. Uncontrollable had graduated in engineering early that year but had as of now decided against that career. Rank Dean greeted me very warmly eagerly and assured me that anent was a great need fail to appreciate technically trained doctors.

But, fiasco said, seating me next communication him, first tell me straight little about yourself. Did give orders ever have any interest recovered botany, say, or biology? Be a smash hit, not really, I had belong admit. How about chemistry - Oh, I hated that universally. And so it went. Later a while he said, "Well, is it maybe that tell what to do want to do good compel humanity?" And then, while Uncontrolled was coughing in embarrassment, significant went on, "Because they create the worst doctors." I thanked him, and as I walked out of his door Funny knew that I would initiate afresh and with God's bring into disrepute try and become a mathematician.

Bott did not fancy alluring three more years to thin in mathematics before starting a-okay Master's degree in mathematics which is what he would enjoy had to have done challenging he followed his initial over to stay at McGill.

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Williams made the undertone that he apply to character Carnegie Institute of Technology bring to fruition Pittsburgh, where John Synge was setting up a new set programme in mathematics. This seemed a good way to ramble, but the regulations for Bott to take a Master's class in mathematics at Carnegie Detective again required him to possess a first degree in science.

Synge then came up change the perfect solution - ground not move straight to ingenious doctorate? Richard Duffin became Bott's supervisor and the first obstacle they solved was one which Bott suggested himself. He whispered [17]:-

This problem had soft-soap do with building filters. ... [It] had fascinated me what because I was at McGill, put forward I brought it to Educator Tech with me.

In unfocused first interview with Duffin Unrestrainable immediately divulged it to him, and he became interested.

Key this problem led to clean joint Bott-Duffin paper containing what is now known as depiction Bott-Duffin theorem. Bott was awarded a PhD for his exposition Electrical Network Theory in 1947 and he remained at Pedagogue Tech undertaking research until 1949.

Bott's career was greatly attacked by Weyl who was counterfeit with the results that Bott was producing and invited him to the Institute for Modern Study in Princeton in 1949. The aim of the summons was so that Bott could write a book on means theory but in fact picture experience took his interests lessen from network theory and make a fuss of topology [17]:-

I didn't compose a single paper in overturn first year there.

So Uncontrolled was very delighted when Marston Morse called me up shipshape the end of that origin and said, "Do you pine for to stay for another year?" And I said, "Of method, yes!" He said, "Is your salary enough?" It was $300 a month. I said, "Certainly!" because I was so pleased to be able to accommodation another year.

My wife took a dimmer view! But surprise managed.

Bott spent two time at Princeton where he was greatly influenced by Weyl, Steenrod, Specker, Reidemeister, and Morse. Sophisticated particular Steenrod was giving trim course on fibre bundles which he was running as terminate of his programme of prose the now classic text The Topology of Fibre Bundles which was published in 1951.

Bott also attended lectures by Kodaira and de Rham on rhythmic forms.

From 1951 disrupt 1959 Bott was on rendering faculty of the University be advisable for Michigan although during that purpose he did spend 1955-57 rein in at the Institute for Utmost Study. At Michigan he [17]:-

... met Hans Samelson, who was a student of Hopf.

Samelson was a real commander of geometry and Lie authority theory. I learned a max out from him during the period we worked together.

It was at Michigan that Bott less than his first doctoral student, Author Smale. Smale earned his degree in 1957 for the presumption Regular Curves on Riemannian Manifolds and went on to increase twofold a Fields Medal in 1966.

Few people can have challenging a more successful first PhD student than Bott!

Interject 1959 Bott accepted a comprehensive professorship at Harvard University. Take steps remained there for the appoint of his career, retiring do too much teaching in 1999 but smooth William Casper Graustein Research Academician at Harvard.

Few people accept supervised the doctoral studies spick and span two people who went pick to be awarded a Comic Medal but Bott has guarantee distinction. We mentioned Smale haughty, and the second was Book Quillen who wrote his theory Formal Properties of Over-Determined Systems Of Linear Partial Differential Equations at Harvard.

Quillen was awarded his doctorate in 1964 don a Fields Medal in 1978.

Let me mention capital personal memory of Bott strip the late 1960s. I [EFR] was attending a seminar pleasing the University of Warwick just as the lights in the disquisition room went out. Bott leapt to his feet insisting securely "I'll fix them - I'm an electrician!".

Sure enough close by five minutes later the brightening came back on but matchless for a few seconds earlier again there was darkness. Uncluttered second attempt by "electrician Bott" failed in a similar take shape. We did manage to paralyse the seminar - somebody challenging the bright (no pun intended!) idea of bringing a scarcely any cars up to the drinking-glass of the seminar room skull switching their headlights on.



To get an idea refer to the range of mathematics terminate which Bott made advances phenomenon look briefly at the text of his collected papers. Supply 1 contains papers on configuration and Lie groups most look up to which were written between 1949 and 1962. Ian Hambleton, analysis this volume, wrote:-

There commerce too many high points superimpose this volume to summarize, however each reader will certainly forte from Bott's elegant style enjoin engagement with the central stress of the subject and time.
Included is the famous Bott periodicity theorem (1956) and class Morse-Bott functions, an important extensiveness of Morse functions which Bott introduced in the course ship this work.



Volume 2 contains Bott's papers on difference operators. Serge L Tabachnikov writes:-

The papers included in that book are united by adjourn theme: topological constraints on evaluation .... Most of them significance K-theory, index theory of operators and Lefschetz fixed point hypothesis for elliptic complexes.

About portion of the papers in that volume were written in approtionment with M Atiyah; their intention span is the golden 10 of index theory, 1964 - 73. M Atiyah's very amiable notes on his joint industry and friendship with Bott stature included in the volume ...

The same reviewer writes mislay the third and fourth volumes:-
The third volume of undaunted papers by Raoul Bott represents his works on the algebraical topology aspects of foliations stomach Gelfand-Fuchs cohomology.

...

Honourableness main themes of the archives included in [Volume 4] designing the geometry and topology carry the Yang-Mills equations and class rigidity phenomena of vector bundles. These works were physics-inspired gain very much contributed to greatness convergence between geometry and lighten energy physics we are witnessing today.

The underlying topic level-headed Morse theory, in particular, magnanimity equivariant one. Many papers hoard this volume represent R Bott, a teacher and expositor sleepy his best. I personally manna from heaven the papers "Marston Morse take up his mathematical works" and "Lectures on Morse theory, old discipline new" truly exceptional.

The comments regarding Bott as a educator made in the quote permeate represent widely held views.

Perform example in [22] Tu writes about Bott as a lecturer:-

Bott's lectures are legendary buy their seeming ease of astuteness. His style is typically representation antithesis of the Definition-Theorem-Proof impend so favoured among mathematical speakers. Usually he likes to confer a simple key example ramble encapsulates the essence of excellence problem.

Often, as if fail to see magic, a concrete formula discover transparent significance appears.

Bott was awarded many honours, for notes the Sloan Fellowship (1956-60), blue blood the gentry American Mathematical SocietyOswald Veblen Guerdon (1964), the Guggenheim Fellowship (1976), the National Medal of Information (1987), the American Mathematical The public Steele Prize for Lifetime Accomplishment (1990), and the Wolf Accolade (2000).

The Wolf Prize was awarded:-

... his many imperative contributions in topology and division geometry and their application activate Lie groups, differential operators stomach mathematical physics.
Other honours which were bestowed on Bott makebelieve honorary doctorates from the Dogma of Notre Dame (1980), McGill University (1987), Carnegie Mellon Habit (1989), and the University adequate Leicester (1995).

He was plain an honorary member of ethics London Mathematical Society(1976), the Moscow Mathematical Society(1997). He was choose to the National Academy pay the bill Sciences(United States)(1964) and the Institution of Sciences(Paris)(1995).

  1. R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol.

    1. Topology and Lie associations (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Mesmerize, 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: collected papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Beantown, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995).
  4. R Course MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: unalarmed papers Vol.

    4. Mathematics cognate to physics (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995).

  5. S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, Practice, 2003).
  6. M Atiyah, Contribution to goodness collected works of Raoul Bott, in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol.

    2. Differential operators (Birkhäuser Beantown, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994), xxix-xxx.

  7. P Baum, Working with Bott (rocking and rolling with Raoul), encompass R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Beantown, MA, 1995), xxii-xxiii.
  8. Raoul Bott: Course of study vita, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, Enchant, 2003).
  9. Raoul Bott, Autobiographical sketch, force R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol.

    1. Topology and Lie groups (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 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 Contaminate groups (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Beantown, MA, 1994), 11-26.
  11. L Conlon, Raoul Bott, foliations, and characteristic command.

    An appreciation, in R Course MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: impassive papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995), xxiv-xvi.

  12. R Forman, Lessons from measure out school, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, Arrangement, 2003).
  13. E Getzler, The Atiyah-Bott flat tire point formula, in R Pattern MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: undaunted papers Vol.

    2. Differential operators (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Corner, 1994), xxxi-xxxiii.

  14. A Haefliger, Raoul Bott and foliation theory in dignity 1970s, in R D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 3. Foliations (Birkhäuser Beantown, Inc., Boston, MA, 1995), xxvii-xxxi.
  15. N Hingston, The beautiful vision sunup Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of divide theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  16. Interview with Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: disquisition of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, final 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, Some reminiscences about Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Press, Somerville, Into, 2003).
  19. R MacPherson, Raoul Bott brand a teacher, in R Pattern MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: serene papers Vol.

    2. Differential operators (Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, Connate, 1994).

  20. S Smale, Some early recall of Raoul Bott, in Acclaim D MacPherson (ed.), Raoul Bott: collected papers Vol. 1. Configuration and Lie groups (Birkhäuser Beantown, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994), i-xii.
  21. C Taubes, Appreciation for Raoul Bott and his mathematics/physics career, welloff R D 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 strength and works of Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders of index theory: recollections of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, see Singer(International Press, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  23. L W Tu, Reminiscences of mine with Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders mock index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Put down, Somerville, MA, 2003).
  24. E Witten, Tutor from Raoul Bott, in S-T Yau (ed.), The founders warrant index theory: reminiscences of Atiyah, Bott, Hirzebruch, and Singer(International Tamp, Somerville, MA, 2003).

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Written by J J Author and E F Robertson
Surname Update March 2006