Eliyahu Rips
Encyclopedia
Eliyahu Rips, also Ilya Rips is a Latvia
n-born Israel
i mathematician
known for his research in geometric group theory
. He became known to the general public following his coauthoring a paper on the Torah Code.
Rips grew up in Latvia
(then part of Soviet Union
). He was the first high school student from Latvia to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad
. On 9 April 1969, Rips (who was a 20-year old graduate student at the University of Latvia
at that time) attempted self-immolation
in a protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
. After that, he was incarcerated by the Soviet government for two years but, under pressure from Western mathematicians, was allowed to emigrate to Israel
in 1972.
After recovering from his wounds and finishing his Ph.D., Rips joined the Department of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. In 1975, he completed his PhD in mathematics at Hebrew University. His topic was the dimensional sub-group problem. His dissertation was recognized as being of international interest and he was awarded with the prestigious Aharon Karzir Prize. In 1979, Rips received the Erdős Prize
from the Israel Mathematical Society, and was a sectional speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians
in 1994.
Since completing his PhD, he has been on the faculty of the Department of Mathematics, at Hebrew University where he holds the position of Professor. His current research interests concentrate on geometric and combinatorial methods in infinite group theory. This includes small cancellation theory and its generalizations, (Gromov) hyperbolic group theory, Bass-Serre theory and the actions of groups on R-trees.
Rips' (mostly unpublished) work on group action
s on
-trees has been widely influential. The Rips machine
, in the hands of Rips and his student Zlil Sela
, has proven to be effective in obtaining classification results such as a solution to the isomorphism problem
for hyperbolic group
s.
text of the Book of Genesis, a part of Bible
. In 1997, their claim was then described in a popular book The Bible Code by journalist Michael Drosnin
. Rips distanced himself from the interpretations of Drosnin in a public statement. Since Drosnin's book, Bible codes have been a subject of controversy, with the claims being criticized by Brendan McKay
and others.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n-born Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i mathematician
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...
known for his research in geometric group theory
Geometric group theory
Geometric group theory is an area in mathematics devoted to the study of finitely generated groups via exploring the connections between algebraic properties of such groups and topological and geometric properties of spaces on which these groups act .Another important...
. He became known to the general public following his coauthoring a paper on the Torah Code.
Rips grew up in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
(then part of Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
). He was the first high school student from Latvia to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad
International Mathematical Olympiad
The International Mathematical Olympiad is an annual six-problem, 42-point mathematical olympiad for pre-collegiate students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980...
. On 9 April 1969, Rips (who was a 20-year old graduate student at the University of Latvia
University of Latvia
University of Latvia is a university located in Riga, Latvia. Being established in 1919, University of Latvia is the biggest university in the Baltic states.-History:...
at that time) attempted self-immolation
Self-immolation
Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...
in a protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...
. After that, he was incarcerated by the Soviet government for two years but, under pressure from Western mathematicians, was allowed to emigrate to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1972.
After recovering from his wounds and finishing his Ph.D., Rips joined the Department of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. In 1975, he completed his PhD in mathematics at Hebrew University. His topic was the dimensional sub-group problem. His dissertation was recognized as being of international interest and he was awarded with the prestigious Aharon Karzir Prize. In 1979, Rips received the Erdős Prize
Erdős Prize
- References :*...
from the Israel Mathematical Society, and was a sectional speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians
International Congress of Mathematicians
The International Congress of Mathematicians is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union ....
in 1994.
Since completing his PhD, he has been on the faculty of the Department of Mathematics, at Hebrew University where he holds the position of Professor. His current research interests concentrate on geometric and combinatorial methods in infinite group theory. This includes small cancellation theory and its generalizations, (Gromov) hyperbolic group theory, Bass-Serre theory and the actions of groups on R-trees.
Rips' (mostly unpublished) work on group action
Group action
In algebra and geometry, a group action is a way of describing symmetries of objects using groups. The essential elements of the object are described by a set, and the symmetries of the object are described by the symmetry group of this set, which consists of bijective transformations of the set...
s on
-trees has been widely influential. The Rips machineRips machine
In geometric group theory, the Rips machine is a method of studying the action of groups on R-trees. It was introduced in unpublished work of Eliyahu Rips in about 1991....
, in the hands of Rips and his student Zlil Sela
Zlil Sela
Zlil Sela is an Israeli mathematician working in the area of geometric group theory.He is a Professor of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...
, has proven to be effective in obtaining classification results such as a solution to the isomorphism problem
Group isomorphism problem
In abstract algebra, the group isomorphism problem is the decision problem of determining whether two group presentations present isomorphic groups....
for hyperbolic group
Hyperbolic group
In group theory, a hyperbolic group, also known as a word hyperbolic group, Gromov hyperbolic group, negatively curved group is a finitely generated group equipped with a word metric satisfying certain properties characteristic of hyperbolic geometry. The notion of a hyperbolic group was introduced...
s.
The Bible Code controversy
In the late seventies, Rips was the first researcher to make a modern systematic study of the Codes of the Torah in a computer, focusing on the beginning of the Book of Genesis: Rips is the founder of the modern systematic research of Codes in the Torah. In the early eighties, Doron Witztum started to work together with Rips, producing a stream of remarkable findings. In 1994, Rips, together with Doron Witztum and Yoav Rosenberg, published an article in the journal Statistical Science which claimed that they have discovered encoded messages in the HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
text of the Book of Genesis, a part of Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. In 1997, their claim was then described in a popular book The Bible Code by journalist Michael Drosnin
Michael Drosnin
Michael Drosnin is an American journalist and author, best known for his writings on the Bible code.Drosnin was born in New York City. He worked as a journalist for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal...
. Rips distanced himself from the interpretations of Drosnin in a public statement. Since Drosnin's book, Bible codes have been a subject of controversy, with the claims being criticized by Brendan McKay
Brendan McKay
Brendan Damien McKay is a Professor in the Research School of Computer Science at the Australian National University . He has published extensively in combinatorics....
and others.
External links
- Torah Codes and 2012
- The Bible Code, transcript of a story which aired on BBC Two, Thursday 20 November 2003, featuring comments by Drosnin, Rips, and Brendan McKayBrendan McKayBrendan Damien McKay is a Professor in the Research School of Computer Science at the Australian National University . He has published extensively in combinatorics....
. - A photo of Professor Eliyahu Rips