A. O. L. Atkin
Encyclopedia
Arthur Oliver Lonsdale Atkin (July 31, 1925 – December 28, 2008), who published under the name A. O. L. Atkin, was a Professor Emeritus of mathematics
at the University of Illinois at Chicago
. As an undergraduate during World War II
, he worked at Bletchley Park
cracking
German
codes. He received his Ph.D.
in 1952 from the University of Cambridge
, where he was one of John Littlewood
's research students. During 1964–1970, he worked at the Atlas Computer Laboratory
at Chilton, computing modular functions.
Atkin, along with Noam Elkies
, extended Schoof's algorithm
to create the Schoof–Elkies–Atkin algorithm. Together with Daniel J. Bernstein
, he developed the sieve of Atkin
.
Atkin is also known for his work on properties of the integer partition function and the monster module. He was an enormous fan of using computers in mathematics, so long as the end goal was theoretical advance: "Each new generation of machines makes feasible a whole new range of computations; provided mathematicians pursue these rather than merely break old records for old sports, computation will have a significant part to play in the development of mathematics."
Atkin died of hospital-acquired pneumonia
on December 28, 2008, in Maywood, Illinois
.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
. As an undergraduate during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he worked at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
cracking
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
codes. He received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1952 from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he was one of John Littlewood
John Edensor Littlewood
John Edensor Littlewood was a British mathematician, best known for the results achieved in collaboration with G. H. Hardy.-Life:...
's research students. During 1964–1970, he worked at the Atlas Computer Laboratory
Atlas Computer Laboratory
The Atlas Computer Laboratory on the Chilton, Oxfordshire campus shared by the Harwell Laboratory was one of the major computer laboratories in the world, which operated between 1961 and 1975 to provide a service to British scientists at a time when powerful computers were not usually available...
at Chilton, computing modular functions.
Atkin, along with Noam Elkies
Noam Elkies
Noam David Elkies is an American mathematician and chess master.At age 14, Elkies received a gold medal with a perfect score at the International Mathematical Olympiad, the youngest ever to do so...
, extended Schoof's algorithm
Schoof's algorithm
Schoof's algorithm is an efficient algorithm to count points on elliptic curves over finite fields. The algorithm has applications in elliptic curve cryptography where it is important to know the number of points to judge the difficulty of solving the discrete logarithm problem in the group of...
to create the Schoof–Elkies–Atkin algorithm. Together with Daniel J. Bernstein
Daniel J. Bernstein
Daniel Julius Bernstein is a mathematician, cryptologist, programmer, and professor of mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago...
, he developed the sieve of Atkin
Sieve of Atkin
In mathematics, the sieve of Atkin is a fast, modern algorithm for finding all prime numbers up to a specified integer. It is an optimized version of the ancient sieve of Eratosthenes, but does some preliminary work and then marks off multiples of primes squared, rather than multiples of primes. ...
.
Atkin is also known for his work on properties of the integer partition function and the monster module. He was an enormous fan of using computers in mathematics, so long as the end goal was theoretical advance: "Each new generation of machines makes feasible a whole new range of computations; provided mathematicians pursue these rather than merely break old records for old sports, computation will have a significant part to play in the development of mathematics."
Atkin died of hospital-acquired pneumonia
Hospital-acquired pneumonia
Hospital-acquired pneumonia or nosocomial pneumonia refers to any pneumonia contracted by a patient in a hospital at least 48–72 hours after being admitted. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection, rather than a virus....
on December 28, 2008, in Maywood, Illinois
Maywood, Illinois
Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1869 and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 26,987 at the 2000 census.-Overview:...
.
Selected publications
- Atkin, A. O. L. and Lehner, J. (1970), "Hecke operators on Γ0 (m)", Mathematische Annalen 185: 134–160, doi:10.1007/BF01359701, MR0268123, ISSN 0025-5831.
- Atkin, A. O. L. and Morain, F. "Elliptic Curves and Primality Proving." Math. Comput. 61, 29-68, 1993.
- Atkin, A. O. L. and Bernstein, D. J. Prime sieves using binary quadratic forms, Math. Comp. 73 (2004), 1023-1030.http://cr.yp.to/papers/primesieves.pdf.
See also
- Atkin-Goldwasser-Kilian-Morain certificate
- Atkin–Lehner theory
- Elliptic curve primality provingElliptic curve primality provingElliptic Curve Primality Proving is a method based on elliptic curves to prove the primality of a number . It is a general-purpose algorithm, meaning it does not depend on the number being of a special form...