Detlef Gromoll
Encyclopedia
Detlef Gromoll was a mathematician who studied distortions of shapes in three or more dimensions. In his soul theorem
, published in 1972, he and Jeff Cheeger
studied the properties of surfaces that have flat regions or curves like the outside of a sphere but not regions shaped liked saddles. They found "the properties of such surfaces, infinite in extent and existing in any number of dimensions, could be deduced from a finite central core region".
Gromoll was born in Berlin
in 1938. After living and attending school in Rosdorf
, he obtained his Ph.D.
in mathematics at the University of Bonn
in 1964. Following sojourns at several other universities, he joined the State University of New York at Stony Brook
in 1969. He married Suzan L. Lemay on 29 December 1971, and they had three children together: his eldest son Hans Christian (also a mathematician), a daughter Heidi, currently training to be a physician, and youngest son Stefan, a physicist & cofounder of Scientic Media.
He died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 31 May 2008.
Soul theorem
In mathematics, the soul theorem is a theorem of Riemannian geometry that largely reduces the study of complete manifolds of non-negative sectional curvature to that of the compact case. Cheeger and Gromoll proved the theorem in 1972 by generalizing a 1969 result of Gromoll and Meyer...
, published in 1972, he and Jeff Cheeger
Jeff Cheeger
Jeff Cheeger , is a mathematician. Cheeger is professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University in New York City. His main interests are differential geometry and its applications to topology and analysis.-Biography:He graduated from Harvard University with a B.A....
studied the properties of surfaces that have flat regions or curves like the outside of a sphere but not regions shaped liked saddles. They found "the properties of such surfaces, infinite in extent and existing in any number of dimensions, could be deduced from a finite central core region".
Gromoll was born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1938. After living and attending school in Rosdorf
Rosdorf
Rosdorf is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. approx. 4 km southwest of Göttingen....
, he obtained 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 mathematics at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
in 1964. Following sojourns at several other universities, he joined the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
in 1969. He married Suzan L. Lemay on 29 December 1971, and they had three children together: his eldest son Hans Christian (also a mathematician), a daughter Heidi, currently training to be a physician, and youngest son Stefan, a physicist & cofounder of Scientic Media.
He died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 31 May 2008.