William Browder (mathematician)
Encyclopedia
William Browder is an American
mathematician
, specializing in algebraic topology
, differential topology
and differential geometry. Browder was one of the pioneers with Sergei Novikov, Dennis Sullivan
and Terry Wall of the surgery theory
method for classifying high-dimensional manifold
s.
Browder is the son of former American Communist Party leader Earl Browder
and the brother of Felix Browder
. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(B.S.) in 1954 and received his Ph.D. from Princeton University
in 1958, with a dissertation entitled Homology
of Loop Spaces, advised by John Coleman Moore
. Since 1964 he has been a professor at Princeton University; he was chair of the mathematics department at Princeton from 1971 to 1973. He was editor of the journal Annals of Mathematics
from 1969 to 1981, and president of the American Mathematical Society
from 1989 to 1991.
Browder was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
in 1980, the American Academy of Arts and Science in 1984, and the Finnish Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1990. In 1994 a conference was held at Princeton in celebration of his 60th birthday.
Seminal papers
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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....
, specializing in algebraic topology
Algebraic topology
Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics which uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariants that classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism, though usually most classify up to homotopy equivalence.Although algebraic topology...
, differential topology
Differential topology
In mathematics, differential topology is the field dealing with differentiable functions on differentiable manifolds. It is closely related to differential geometry and together they make up the geometric theory of differentiable manifolds.- Description :...
and differential geometry. Browder was one of the pioneers with Sergei Novikov, Dennis Sullivan
Dennis Sullivan
Dennis Parnell Sullivan is an American mathematician. He is known for work in topology, both algebraic and geometric, and on dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and is a professor at Stony Brook University.-Work in topology:He...
and Terry Wall of the surgery theory
Surgery theory
In mathematics, specifically in geometric topology, surgery theory is a collection of techniques used to produce one manifold from another in a 'controlled' way, introduced by . Surgery refers to cutting out parts of the manifold and replacing it with a part of another manifold, matching up along...
method for classifying high-dimensional manifold
Manifold
In mathematics , a manifold is a topological space that on a small enough scale resembles the Euclidean space of a specific dimension, called the dimension of the manifold....
s.
Browder is the son of former American Communist Party leader Earl Browder
Earl Browder
Earl Russell Browder was an American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1945. He was expelled from the party in 1946.- Early years :...
and the brother of Felix Browder
Felix Browder
Felix E. Browder is a United States mathematician.Felix Browder received his doctorate from Princeton University in 1948. He is known for his research in nonlinear functional analysis, including the theory of semigroups, monotone operators, and fixed points of Cesàro sums of non-expansive operators...
. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(B.S.) in 1954 and received his Ph.D. from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1958, with a dissertation entitled Homology
Homology (mathematics)
In mathematics , homology is a certain general procedure to associate a sequence of abelian groups or modules with a given mathematical object such as a topological space or a group...
of Loop Spaces, advised by John Coleman Moore
John Coleman Moore
John Coleman Moore is an American mathematician. He received his Ph.D. in 1952 from Brown University under the supervision of George W. Whitehead. His most heavily cited paper is on Hopf algebras, co-authored with John Milnor. As a faculty member at Princeton University, he advised 23 students and...
. Since 1964 he has been a professor at Princeton University; he was chair of the mathematics department at Princeton from 1971 to 1973. He was editor of the journal Annals of Mathematics
Annals of Mathematics
The Annals of Mathematics is a bimonthly mathematical journal published by Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study. It ranks amongst the most prestigious mathematics journals in the world by criteria such as impact factor.-History:The journal began as The Analyst in 1874 and was...
from 1969 to 1981, and president of the American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
from 1989 to 1991.
Browder was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1980, the American Academy of Arts and Science in 1984, and the Finnish Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1990. In 1994 a conference was held at Princeton in celebration of his 60th birthday.
Selected bibliography
Books- "Surgery on Simply-Connected Manifolds", Ergebnisse series 65, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1972)
- "Algebraic Topology and Algebraic K-Theory", Princeton University PressPrinceton University Press-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
, 1987, ISBN 0-691-08426-2
Seminal papers
- "Homotopy Type of Differentiable Manifolds", Proc. 1962 Arhus Conference, published in Proc. 1993
- Oberwolfach Novikov Conjecture Conference proceedings, LMS Lecture Notes 226 (1995)
- "The Kervaire invariant of framed manifolds and its generalization", Ann. of Math.s 90, 157--186 (1969)