Richard K. Lashof (November 9, 1922 – February 4, 2010) was an American mathematician. He contributed to the field of geometric and differential topology, working with Shiing-Shen Chern, Stephen Smale, among others. Lashof was regarded as "the key figure in sustaining the Chicago Mathematics Department as an international center for research and the training of topologists" by Melvin Rothenberg.[1]
Richard Lashof | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 9, 1922 |
| Died | February 4, 2010 (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Columbia (Ph.D. 1954) Pennsylvania (B.Sc. 1943) |
| Known for | Chern-Lashof theory |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Chicago |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard Kadison |
| Doctoral students | John Smillie Robert Stong |
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lashof earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943 and was a communications officer in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. He earned his doctoral degree in mathematics from Columbia University in 1954 under the supervision of Richard Vincent Kadison. In 1971 he was an invited to speak at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Nice.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Obituary: Richard Lashof, mathematician, 1922–2010", University of Chicago, February 18, 2010.
- ^ Lashof, R. (1971). "The immersion approach to triangulation and smoothing". Actes du Congrès international des mathématiciens, 1–10 Septembre 1970, Nice. Vol. Tome 2. pp. 91–93.