Andrzej Mostowski
Encyclopedia
Andrzej Mostowski was a Polish
mathematician
. He is perhaps best remembered for the Mostowski collapse lemma.
Born in Lwów
, Austria-Hungary
, Mostowski entered University of Warsaw
in 1931. He was influenced by Kuratowski
, Lindenbaum
and Tarski
. His Ph.D. came in 1939, officially directed by Kuratowski
but in practice directed by Tarski
who was a young lecturer at that time.
He became an accountant after the German invasion of Poland
but continued working in the Underground Warsaw University. After the Warsaw uprising
of 1944 the Nazis tried to put him in a concentration camp. With the help of some Polish nurses he escaped to a hospital, choosing to take bread with him rather than his notebook containing his research. Some of this research he reconstructed after the War, however much of it remained lost.
This work was largely on recursion theory
and undecidability. From 1946 until his death in Vancouver
, Canada
, he worked at the University of Warsaw
. Much of work during that time was on first order logic
and model theory
.
His son Tadeusz is also a mathematician working on differential geometry. With Krzysztof Kurdyka and Adam Parusinski, Tadeusz Mostowski solved René Thom
's gradient conjecture
in 2000.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. He is perhaps best remembered for the Mostowski collapse lemma.
Born in Lwów
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, Mostowski entered University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
in 1931. He was influenced by Kuratowski
Kazimierz Kuratowski
Kazimierz Kuratowski was a Polish mathematician and logician. He was one of the leading representatives of the Warsaw School of Mathematics.-Biography and studies:...
, Lindenbaum
Adolf Lindenbaum
Adolf Lindenbaum , was a Polish logician and mathematician.He was a student of Wacław Sierpiński, became a distinguished author of works on set theory and had served as an Assistant Professor at Warsaw University...
and Tarski
Alfred Tarski
Alfred Tarski was a Polish logician and mathematician. Educated at the University of Warsaw and a member of the Lwow-Warsaw School of Logic and the Warsaw School of Mathematics and philosophy, he emigrated to the USA in 1939, and taught and carried out research in mathematics at the University of...
. His Ph.D. came in 1939, officially directed by Kuratowski
Kazimierz Kuratowski
Kazimierz Kuratowski was a Polish mathematician and logician. He was one of the leading representatives of the Warsaw School of Mathematics.-Biography and studies:...
but in practice directed by Tarski
Alfred Tarski
Alfred Tarski was a Polish logician and mathematician. Educated at the University of Warsaw and a member of the Lwow-Warsaw School of Logic and the Warsaw School of Mathematics and philosophy, he emigrated to the USA in 1939, and taught and carried out research in mathematics at the University of...
who was a young lecturer at that time.
He became an accountant after the German invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
but continued working in the Underground Warsaw University. After the Warsaw uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
of 1944 the Nazis tried to put him in a concentration camp. With the help of some Polish nurses he escaped to a hospital, choosing to take bread with him rather than his notebook containing his research. Some of this research he reconstructed after the War, however much of it remained lost.
This work was largely on recursion theory
Recursion theory
Computability theory, also called recursion theory, is a branch of mathematical logic that originated in the 1930s with the study of computable functions and Turing degrees. The field has grown to include the study of generalized computability and definability...
and undecidability. From 1946 until his death in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, he worked at the University of Warsaw
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
. Much of work during that time was on first order logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and model theory
Model theory
In mathematics, model theory is the study of mathematical structures using tools from mathematical logic....
.
His son Tadeusz is also a mathematician working on differential geometry. With Krzysztof Kurdyka and Adam Parusinski, Tadeusz Mostowski solved René Thom
René Thom
René Frédéric Thom was a French mathematician. He made his reputation as a topologist, moving on to aspects of what would be called singularity theory; he became world-famous among the wider academic community and the educated general public for one aspect of this latter interest, his work as...
's gradient conjecture
Gradient conjecture
In mathematics, the gradient conjecture, due to René Thom, was proved in 2000 by 3 Polish mathematicians, Krzysztof Kurdyka , Tadeusz Mostowski and Adam Parusinski...
in 2000.