Svetozar Kurepa
Encyclopedia
Svetozar Kurepa was a mathematician
whose main contributions were in the areas of functional analysis
and operator theory
. Kurepa published over 70 articles, 16 books, and numerous scientific reviews. He taught at the University of Zagreb
, where he also served as the Dean of the College of Sciences. He taught in North America at the University of Maryland
, at Georgetown University
, and at the University of Waterloo
. In Europe he worked at the Niels Bohr Institute
in Denmark and the University of Milan
.
, in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
and now part of Croatia
near what is today Glina, Croatia
. World War II interrupted his education. After the war, he completed high-school in Zagreb. He received a diploma in mathematics from the University of Zagreb in 1952. From 1954 to 1956 he worked at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. He married in 1955. He earned a doctorate in mathematics at the University of Zagreb in 1958. Rising rapidly from Assistant to Full Professor, he taught at the University of Zagreb, with some notable absences, for the remainder of his career.
. Svetozar Kurepa was critical to the founding of the XV Gymnasium
.
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....
whose main contributions were in the areas of functional analysis
Functional analysis
Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure and the linear operators acting upon these spaces and respecting these structures in a suitable sense...
and operator theory
Operator theory
In mathematics, operator theory is the branch of functional analysis that focuses on bounded linear operators, but which includes closed operators and nonlinear operators.Operator theory also includes the study of algebras of operators....
. Kurepa published over 70 articles, 16 books, and numerous scientific reviews. He taught at the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
, where he also served as the Dean of the College of Sciences. He taught in North America at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
, at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, and at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
. In Europe he worked at the Niels Bohr Institute
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics....
in Denmark and the University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
.
Early life
Svetozar Kurepa was born in Majske PoljaneMajske Poljane
Majske Poljane is a village in Croatia. It is part of Glina. The village's geographic coordinates are 45° 21' 0 North and 16° 8' 60 East, the altitude is 162 meters above sea level, and, as of 2001, the population was 124 people...
, in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
and now part of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
near what is today Glina, Croatia
Glina, Croatia
Glina is a small town in central Croatia, located southwest of Petrinja and Sisak in the Sisak-Moslavina county. It lies on the eponymous river of Glina.-History:...
. World War II interrupted his education. After the war, he completed high-school in Zagreb. He received a diploma in mathematics from the University of Zagreb in 1952. From 1954 to 1956 he worked at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. He married in 1955. He earned a doctorate in mathematics at the University of Zagreb in 1958. Rising rapidly from Assistant to Full Professor, he taught at the University of Zagreb, with some notable absences, for the remainder of his career.
Middle years
In 1960–61, he taught at the University of Maryland. In 1963, he won the Ruder Boskovic Prize for his work in functional analysis. He spent the 1966–67 academic year at Georgetown University. He won the Prize of the City of Zagreb for Scientific, Teaching, and Professional Activities in 1968. The 1970–71 academic year was spent teaching at the University of Waterloo in Canada, and he briefly visited there again in 1986. In 1982, Kurepa spent a small part of the year at the University of Milan (the Federigo Enriques Institute). He served as the Head of Graduate Studies in Mathematics at the University of Zagreb during 1965–1970, 1972–1980, and 1984–1988.Later years
Kurepa served in various administrative roles at the University of Zagreb. Under different titles, he served as the head of the Department of Mathematics from 1978 to 1986. He was the “Director of the Mathematics Department” from 1978 to 1982. Then he was “Dean of the Department” from 1982 to 1986. He served as Dean of the College of Sciences from 1986 to 1988, at which time he stepped away from administrative duties. He continued teaching and publishing until 1999 when he retired. He was named Professor Emeritus in 2000. His last book was published in 2001. In 2006, he received the National Lifetime Achievement Award.Legacy
Kurepa’s most important results were in functional analysis and operator theory. Among his most significant books are Konačno dimenzionalni vektori, prostori i primjene (1967), and Funkcionalna analiza: Elementi teorije operatora (1980). In addition, he authored or co-authored many university-level and high-school level mathematics textbooks. Generations of students in Yugoslavia, and later Croatia, learned mathematics through those books. His work, and that of his uncle, Djuro Kurepa, made the name Kurepa virtually synonymous with “mathematics” in the Balkans during the twentieth century.Other notes
The Kurepa family also produced the noted physicist Milan KurepaMilan Kurepa
Milan V. Kurepa was a renowned Serbian atomic physicist.Kurepa was born on 1 May 1933 in town of Bačka Palanka, Vojvodina, Serbia. In 1956, he began his working at the Vinca Nuclear Institute in Belgrade. Kurepa graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Mathematics under Aleksandar...
. Svetozar Kurepa was critical to the founding of the XV Gymnasium
XV Gymnasium
Fifteenth Gymnasium , previously called, and still better known as, MIOC, is a public high school in Zagreb, Croatia. It specializes in mathematics and computer science and it is considered to be the best high school in the country, along with Fifth Gymnasium , also located in Zagreb...
.