1990 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1990 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy and space exploration

  • April 24 – The Space Shuttle Discovery
    Space Shuttle Discovery
    Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...

     places the Hubble Space Telescope
    Hubble Space Telescope
    The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...

     into orbit.

Computer science

  • November 12 – Tim Berners-Lee
    Tim Berners-Lee
    Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...

     publishes a more formal proposal for the World Wide Web
    World Wide Web
    The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...

    .
  • November 13 – The first known web
    World Wide Web
    The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...

     page is written.

Mathematics

  • Ruth Lawrence
    Ruth Lawrence
    Ruth Elke Lawrence-Naimark is an Associate Professor of mathematics at the Einstein Institute of Mathematics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a researcher in knot theory and algebraic topology. Outside academia, she is best known for being a child prodigy in mathematics.- Youth :Ruth Lawrence...

     publishes a paper on homological
    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...

     representations of the Hecke algebra
    Hecke algebra
    In mathematics, the Iwahori–Hecke algebra, or Hecke algebra, named for Erich Hecke and Nagayoshi Iwahori, is a one-parameter deformation of the group algebra of a Coxeter group....

    , introducing, among other things, certain novel linear representations of the braid group
    Braid group
    In mathematics, the braid group on n strands, denoted by Bn, is a group which has an intuitive geometrical representation, and in a sense generalizes the symmetric group Sn. Here, n is a natural number; if n > 1, then Bn is an infinite group...

    , the Lawrence–Krammer representation
    Lawrence–Krammer representation
    In mathematics the Lawrence–Krammer representation is a representation of the braid groups. It fits into a family of representations called the Lawrence representations...

    .

Paleontology

  • August 12 – "Sue
    Sue (dinosaur)
    "Sue" is the nickname given to FMNH PR 2081, which is the largest, most extensive and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found. It was discovered in the summer of 1990 by Sue Hendrickson, a paleontologist, and was named after her...

    ", the best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex
    Tyrannosaurus
    Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...

    specimen ever found, is discovered in South Dakota
    South Dakota
    South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

    .

Awards

  • Fields Prize in Mathematics
    Fields Medal
    The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...

    : Vladimir Drinfeld, Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones, Shigefumi Mori
    Shigefumi Mori
    -References:*Heisuke Hironaka, Fields Medallists Lectures, Michael F. Atiyah , Daniel Iagolnitzer ; World Scientific Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9810231172...

     and Edward Witten
    Edward Witten
    Edward Witten is an American theoretical physicist with a focus on mathematical physics who is currently a professor of Mathematical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study....

  • Nobel Prize
    Nobel Prize
    The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

    s
    • Physics
      Nobel Prize in Physics
      The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...

       – Jerome I. Friedman, Henry W. Kendall, Richard Taylor
    • Chemistry
      Nobel Prize in Chemistry
      The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...

       – Elias James Corey
      Elias James Corey
      Elias James Corey is an American organic chemist. In 1990 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis", specifically retrosynthetic analysis...

    • Medicine
      Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
      The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...

       – Joseph E. Murray, E. Donnall Thomas
      E. Donnall Thomas
      Dr. Edward Donnall Thomas is an American physician, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, and director emeritus of the clinical research division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 1990 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph E. Murray for the...

  • Turing Award
    Turing Award
    The Turing Award, in full The ACM A.M. Turing Award, is an annual award given by the Association for Computing Machinery to "an individual selected for contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community. The contributions should be of lasting and major technical importance to the...

     – Fernando J. Corbató
    Fernando J. Corbató
    Fernando José "Corby" Corbató is a prominent American computer scientist, notable as a pioneer in the development of time-sharing operating systems....


Deaths

  • January 4 – Prof. Doc Edgerton, (b. 1903
    1903 in science
    The year 1903 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:* December 17 - First documented, successful, controlled, powered flight of an aircraft with a petrol engine by Orville Wright in the Wright Flyer at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.* Konstantin...

    ), electrical engineer.
  • January 26 – Lewis Mumford
    Lewis Mumford
    Lewis Mumford was an American historian, philosopher of technology, and influential literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer...

     (b. 1895
    1895 in science
    The year 1895 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* David Bruce discovers the Trypanosoma parasite carried by the tsetse fly which causes the fatal cattle disease nagana.-Chemistry:...

    ), historian and philosopher of science.
  • March 22 – Gerald Bull
    Gerald Bull
    Gerald Vincent Bull was a Canadian engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to launch economically a satellite using a huge artillery piece, to which end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government...

     (b. 1928
    1928 in science
    The year 1928 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* January - Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA....

    ), engineer.
  • March 24 – An Wang
    An Wang
    Dr. An Wang was a Chinese American computer engineer and inventor, and co-founder of computer company Wang Laboratories.-Early life and career:...

     (b. 1920
    1920 in science
    The year 1920 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-History of science and technology:* Newcomen Society founded in the United Kingdom for the study of the history of engineering and technology.-Medicine:...

    ), computer designer.
  • October 17 - Hans Freudenthal
    Hans Freudenthal
    Hans Freudenthal was a Dutch mathematician. He made substantial contributions to algebraic topology and also took an interest in literature, philosophy, history and mathematics education....

     (b. 1905
    1905 in science
    The year 1905 in science and technology involved some significant events, particularly in physics, listed below.-Astronomy:* January 2 - Charles Dillon Perrine at Lick Observatory discovers Elara, one of Jupiter's natural satellites....

    ), 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....

    .
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