Jacob Levitzki
Encyclopedia
Jacob Levitzki, also known as Yaakov Levitsky (17 August 1904 - 25 February 1956) was an Israel
i mathematician
.
, and emigrated to then Ottoman
-ruled Palestine
in 1912. After completing his studies at the Herzliya Gymnasia
, he travelled to Germany
and, in 1929, obtained a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Göttingen. In 1931, after two years at Yale University
, in New Haven, Connecticut
, Levitzki returned to Palestine to join the faculty at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
.
, who had been one of his students at the Hebrew University, were each awarded the Israel Prize
in exact science
s in 1953, the inaugural year of the prize, for their work on the laws of noncommunicative rings.
Levitzki's son Alexander Levitzki
, a recipient of the Israel Prize in 1990, in life sciences, established the Levitzki Prize in the name of his parents, Jacob and Charlotte, for Israeli research in the field of algebra.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i 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....
.
Biography
Levitzki was born in 1904 in Ukraine, then part of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and emigrated to then Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-ruled Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1912. After completing his studies at the Herzliya Gymnasia
Herzliya Hebrew High School
The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium , originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.-History:...
, he travelled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and, in 1929, obtained a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Göttingen. In 1931, after two years at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, in New Haven, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Levitzki returned to Palestine to join the faculty at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
.
Awards
Levitzki together with Shimshon AmitsurShimshon Amitsur
Shimshon Avraham Amitsur was a Jewish mathematician. He is best known for his work in ring theory, in particular PI rings, an area of abstract algebra.-Biography:...
, who had been one of his students at the Hebrew University, were each awarded the Israel Prize
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
in exact science
Exact science
An exact science is any field of science capable of accurate quantitative expression or precise predictions and rigorous methods of testing hypotheses, especially reproducible experiments involving quantifiable predictions and measurements...
s in 1953, the inaugural year of the prize, for their work on the laws of noncommunicative rings.
Levitzki's son Alexander Levitzki
Alexander Levitzki
Alexander Levitzki is an Israeli biochemist who is a Professor of Biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.- Birth and education :...
, a recipient of the Israel Prize in 1990, in life sciences, established the Levitzki Prize in the name of his parents, Jacob and Charlotte, for Israeli research in the field of algebra.
See also
- Amitsur–Levitzki theoremAmitsur–Levitzki theoremIn algebra, the Amitsur–Levitzki theorem states that the algebra of n by n matrices satisfies a certain identity of degree 2n. It was proved by...
- List of Israel Prize recipients
- List of Jews born in the former Russian Empire
- LevitzkiLevitzkiLevitzki or Levitsky is a surname, which is derived from the Hebrew name Levi meaning "joined to" in Hebrew. It may refer to::* Alexander Levitzki , an Israeli biochemist...
- Levitzky's theoremLevitzky's theoremIn mathematics, more specifically ring theory and the theory of nil ideals, Levitzky's theorem, named after Jacob Levitzki, states that in a right Noetherian ring, every nil one-sided ideal is necessarily nilpotent. Levitzky's theorem is one of the many results suggesting the veracity of the Köthe...
- Hopkins–Levitzki theorem