Serge lang biography

Biography

Serge Lang was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye close to Paris. His dad Étienne Lang was a businessperson and his mother Helene Schlepianoff was a concert pianist. Serge had a twin brother who became a basketball coach playing field a sister who became more than ever actress. Serge lived in Town and attended school there pending the beginning of World Hostilities II when he was disintegrate the 10th grade.

The contest began in September 1939 on the contrary it was not until June 1940 that German troops entered Paris. Serge together with potentate father and sister fled tip the United States where they settled in Los Angeles, Calif.. It was there that Thump completed his high school raising and then entered the Calif. Institute of Technology.

Boom graduated from the California Guild of Technology in 1946 friendliness a B.A. in physics. Appease then served for around 18 months in the U.S. Horde and he was stationed long part of this time rivet Italy and Germany. After habitual to the United States, Lingua franca went to Princeton University eradicate the intention of studying cooperation a doctorate in philosophy.

Make sure of a year in the idea department, he changed to sums and Emil Artin became king thesis advisor. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 1951 ejection his dissertation On Quasi Algebraical Closure. His early publications were in the area of authority thesis, for example in 1952 he published three papers: On quasi algebraic closure; Hilbert's Nullstellensatz in infinite-dimensional space; and (with John Tate)On Chevalley's proof beat somebody to it Lüroth's theorem.

Perhaps the apogee significant of his early identification is Number of points befit varieties in finite fields(1954) impossible to get into in collaboration with André Philosopher.

Lang was an coach at Princeton during 1951-53 while in the manner tha he was also a guest at the Institute for Radical Study. During 1953-55 he was an instructor at the Order of the day of Chicago, then he became a professor at Columbia Hospital in 1955.

We will converse about some of his passions bottom, both mathematical and non-mathematical, however let us say at that stage that he was heartily interested in politics and notice strongly opposed to the Warfare War. In 1971 he calm his position at Columbia Rule in protest at their misuse of anti-war protestors.

At significance time he resigned he difficult to understand no idea where he backbone find another position. In occurrence he was offered a in line at Yale University in 1972 and he remained there sort the rest of his vitality until he retired in influence spring of 2005. On crown retirement the president of Altruist gave a speech in rulership honour (see for example [5]):-

Your primary love has universally been number theory and order about have written, by one colleague's estimate, over 50 books cranium monographs [actually over 60], profuse of them concerned with that topic.

Several of your monographs are the only, or fundamentally the only, book treatments work for their important subjects. Your celebrated theorem in Diophantine equations justified you the distinguished Cole Reward of the American Mathematical Camaraderie. Your textbooks also have garnered accolades. Your 'Calculus for undergraduates' went through many editions dependably the seventies and eighties, take your 'Algebra' textbook is great standard reference in the a lot.

So prodigious are you renovation a scholar that there proposal actual jokes in your occupation about you. One joke goes: "Someone calls the Yale Arithmetic Department, and asks for Serge Lang. The assistant who back talks says, 'He can't talk nowadays, he is writing a picture perfect. I will put you work out hold.'"

In your natural feeling, you are uncompromising in your insistence on what you vicious circle as logical consistency and expressive honesty, and you have hairy much received wisdom and profuse authorities in the external sphere as well as here even Yale.

You are an good and deeply caring teacher, crucial in honour of this a handful years ago you received rectitude Dylon Hixon Prize for instruction in Yale College. Your set keep in touch with boss around years after they graduate subject one has created an competent fund in your honour. Centre of your many monographs there commission one called 'The Beauty appropriate Doing Mathematics', a collection elect three dialogues you gave breach Paris in the '80s.

Altruist is grateful to you promulgate the passion with which on your toes understand, practice and profess rendering mathematical arts, and wishes spiky well as you continue your lifelong engagement with their countless splendours.

Lang's mathematical research normal over a wide range help topics such as algebraic geometry, Diophantine geometry (a term Crunch invented), transcendental number theory, Diophantine approximation, analytic number theory be proof against its connections to representation assumption, modular curves and their applications in number theory, L-series, overblown geometry, Arakelov theory, and discrimination geometry.

His books, although innumerable are on the topics lapse he was undertaking research case, cover an even wider ghostly of mathematics. Many are home-grown on graduate courses that explicit was giving. He always oral that the best way extremity learn a topic was emphasize write a book on excitement. To single out some highlights from such a range watch books is almost impossible.

Nonetheless most would agree that Algebra(1965) was the most influential some his graduate level texts [5]:-

Lang single-handedly reorganises and revitalises this fundamental and central thesis. The book has had put down enormous impact.

You can skim the Foreword to this retain at THIS LINK.

Smart second expanded edition appeared induce 1984 and a third recalcitrance in 2002.

Lang wrote contain the Foreword to the 2002 book:-

From now on, Algebra appears with Springer-Verlag, like greatness rest of my books. Eradicate this change, I considered glory possibility of a new run riot, but decided against it. Rabid view the book as upturn stable. The only addition which I would make, if eccentric from scratch, would be dehydrated of the algebraic properties invite SL(n) and GL(n)(over R slipup C), beyond the proof take in simplicity in Chapter XIII.

Sort things stood, I just inserted some exercises concerning some aspects which everybody should know.

Conceivably Lang's most used undergraduate paragraph is A first course edict calculus which he first accessible in 1964.
You focus on read the Foreword to significance text at THIS LINK.

Other books by Lang contain Introduction to algebraic geometry(1958), Abelian varieties(1959), Diophantine geometry(1962), Introduction perfect differentiable manifolds(1962), Algebraic numbers(1964), Linear algebra(1966), Introduction to diophantine approximations(1966), Introduction to transcendental numbers(1966), Algebraic structures(1967), Algebraic number theory(1970), Introduction to algebraic and abelian functions(1972), Differential manifolds(1972), Elliptic functions(1973), SL(R)(1975), Introduction to modular forms(1976), Complex analysis(1977), Cyclotomic fields(1978), Elliptic curves: Diophantine analysis(1978), Undergraduate analysis(1983), Complex multiplication(1983), Riemann-Roch algebra(1985), The ideal of doing mathematics.

Three become public dialogues(1985), Introduction to complex highly coloured spaces(1987), Introduction to Arakelov theory(1988), Topics in Nevanlinna theory(1990), Basic analysis of regularized series near products(1993), Fundamentals of differential geometry(1999), and Math talks for undergraduates(1999).

Let us now equable at Lang's long campaign anti injustices and inaccuracies. He difficult felt strongly about such affair all his life as rulership resignation from Columbia University detour 1971 shows. However it was around 1977 that he began to fight causes in capital more aggressive way. Let consuming give two examples of causes that Lang fought.

First awe mention the case of significance Harvard political scientist Samuel Proprietor Huntington. In the book Political order in changing societies put off Huntington published in 1968 be active used pseudo-mathematical arguments to convict that in the 1960s Southern Africa was a "satisfied society".

Lang did not believe blue blood the gentry conclusion so he looked endeavor Huntington justified this claim unacceptable saw that he used speak to which was simply not ask. Lang suspected that he was using false pseudo-mathematical argument signify give arguments that he craved to justify greater authority. Bring to a halt was, said Lang:-

...

a-okay type of language which gives the illusion of science out any of its substance.

Thunder fought a vigorous campaign look after prevent Huntington becoming a participant of the National Academy scope Sciences in 1986 after appease had been nominated. Lang was successful on this occasion predominant also on a second opportunity when Huntington was again designated.

A detailed description of these events was published by Thud in Academia, Journalism, and Politics: A Case Study: The Businessman Case which occupies the primary 222 pages of his 1998 book Challenges.

The specially case we look at pass for an example of Lang's campaigns is his attempt to disdain the results of The 1977 survey of the American professoriate published in 1979 by Everett C Ladd and Seymour Pot-pourri Lipsett.

In 1981 Lang available The File: Case Study renovate Correction (1977-1979) which consists pointer copies of correspondence concerning probity survey. Lang always liked character facts to speak for yourself so he made relatively brief commentary on the documents. Loosen up does, however, set out straightforwardly why he fought that appeal and the many others focus he fought with equal vigour:-

I don't like the gobbledegook that passes for rational talk so often in our companionship.

I am very much daunted by the inaccuracies, ambiguities, statute words, slogans, catch phrases, the upper classes relation devices, sweeping generalizations, obtain stereotypes, which are used (consciously or otherwise) to influence everyday.

I am bothered contempt the inability of many be carried recognize these for what they are.

I am bothered gross the way people fudge issues, or are unable to explain them, sometimes because they disadvantage inhibited by "collegiality" and mocker forms of intimidation (sometimes refined, sometimes not). Most people settle up with the nonsense on one\'s uppers doing anything about it (unable or unwilling, for whatever balanced - inertia, lack, of liveliness, lack of interest, lack objection time, etc.), often falling be selected for cynicism and despair.

Funny am bothered by the misintelligence which gets disseminated uncritically formulate the media and by authority obstructions which prevent correct relevant from being disseminated. These obstructions come about in many control - personal, institutional, through self-imposed inhibitions, through external inhibitions, achieve your goal outright dishonesty, through incompetence - the list is a extensive one.

I am discomposed by the way misinformation, fake as scholarship, is used suspend social, political, and educational contexts to affect policy decisions.

I am bothered by glory way misinformation is accepted uncritically, and by the way humanity are unable to recognize have round or reject it.

Lang customary many honours for his achievements.

For example he was awarded the Frank Nelson Cole Trophy in 1959 from the Indweller Mathematical Society, the Prix Carrière in France in 1967, ethics Humboldt Award for research crucial teaching in 1984, and excellence Leroy P Steele Prize gather mathematical exposition from the Indweller Mathematical Society in 1999, beginning the Dylan Hixon '88 Like for Teaching in the Sciences in 2004.

He was choice a member of the Secure Academy of Sciences in 1985. It is worth noting defer although he accepted the Leroy P Steele Prize in 1999, he had in fact composed from the American Mathematical Chorus line in 1996 in a against about an article in goodness Notices. He made it publication plain in his acceptance speaking for the prize that pacify did not wish his draft in any way to minify the arguments he had aptitude the Society.

P Bass, Serge Lang, 1927-2005(New Haven Independent, 18 September, 2005).
K Chang and Vulnerable Leary, Serge Lang, 78, unembellished Gadfly and Mathematical Theorist, Dies (New York Times, 25 Sept, 2005).
R Goldberg, Math professor Serge Lang dies at age 78(Yale Daily News, 16 September, 2005).
M Hindry, La géométrie diophantienne, selon Serge Lang, Gaz.

Math. Inept. 108(2006), 17-32.
J Jorgenson and Fierce G Krantz, Serge Lang, 1927-2005, Notices Amer. Math. Soc.53(5)(2006), 536-553.
D E Rohrlich, Serge Lang, Gaz. Math. No. 108(2006), 33-34.
M Waldschmidt, Les contributions de Serge Lingua franca à la théorie des nombres transcendants, Gaz.

Math. No. 108(2006), 35-46.

Additional Resources (show)

Written outdo J J O'Connor and House F Robertson
Last Update Nov 2006