Theodore Motzkin
| Theodore Motzkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 26, 1908 Berlin, Germany |
| Died | October 15, 1970 (aged 62) |
| Nationality | American |
| Institutions | UCLA |
| Alma mater | University of Basel |
| Doctoral advisor | Alexander Ostrowski |
| Doctoral students | John Selfridge |
| Known for | Motzkin transposition theorem Motzkin number PIDs that are not EDs |
Theodore Samuel Motzkin (26 March 1908–15 December 1970) was an Israeli-American mathematician.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Motzkin's father, Leo Motzkin, was a noted Russian Zionist leader.
Motzkin received his Ph.D. in 1934 from the University of Basel under the supervision of Alexander Ostrowski.[2]
He was appointed at UCLA in 1950 and worked there until retirement.
[edit] Contributions to mathematics
The Motzkin transposition theorem, Motzkin numbers and the Fourier–Motzkin elimination are named after him. Motzkin first developed the "double description" algorithm of polyhedral combinatorics and computational geometry.[3] He was the first to prove the existence of principal ideal domains that are not Euclidean domains, ![\Bbb{Z}\left[\frac{1+\sqrt{-19}}{2}\right]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/math/7/0/7/70745bc9274310c9e3a7d8dfc2ae2b3d.png)
being his first example.
The quote "complete disorder is impossible," describing Ramsey theory is attributed to him.[4]
[edit] See also
- Cyclic polytope
- Pentagram map– related concept
[edit] References
- ^ Motzkin, Theodore S. (1983). David Cantor, Basil Gordon, and Bruce Rothschild. ed. Theodore S. Motzkin: Selected papers. Contemporary Mathematicians. Boston, Mass.: Birkhäuser. pp. xxvi+530. ISBN 3-7643-3087-2. MR693096.
- ^ Theodore Motzkin at the Mathematics Genealogy Project.
- ^ Motzkin, T. S.; Raiffa, H.; Thompson, G. L.; Thrall, R. M. (1953). "The double description method". Contributions to the theory of games. Annals of Mathematics Studies. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 51–73. MR60202.
- ^ Hans Jürgen Prömel (2005). "Complete Disorder is Impossible: The Mathematical Work of Walter Deuber". Combinatorics, Probability and Computing (Cambridge University Press) 14: 3–16. doi:10.1017/S0963548304006674.
[edit] External links
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Theodore Motzkin", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Motzkin.html.
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