Michael Golomb
Encyclopedia
Michael Golomb was an American
mathematician
and educator who was affiliated with Purdue University
for over half a century. He was a student of Erhard Schmidt
and Adolf Hammerstein, and received his doctorate from the University of Berlin in 1933. However, as a Jew, he had to leave Germany shortly afterwards to avoid Nazi persecution. After a short period in Zagreb
in the former Yugoslavia
, Michael Golomb arrived in the U.S.
in 1939, when he turned to applied mathematics. He was one of the first mathematicians to apply normed vector space
s in numerical analysis
. He taught mathematics http://www.math.purdue.edu at Purdue University
from 1942 until his retirement in 1975, at times holding joint appointment with the Schools of Engineering. He continued to teach as Professor Emeritus.
In 1998 in Berlin
, Michael Golomb was honored as part of a special exhibition entitled "Terror and Exile: Persecuted and expelled Berlin mathematicians in the time of the Nazi regime." The exhibition was organized by the city of Berlin
to coincide with the International Congress of Mathematicians
there. His Erdős number
is 1.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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....
and educator who was affiliated with Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
for over half a century. He was a student of Erhard Schmidt
Erhard Schmidt
Erhard Schmidt was a German mathematician whose work significantly influenced the direction of mathematics in the twentieth century. He was born in Tartu, Governorate of Livonia . His advisor was David Hilbert and he was awarded his doctorate from Georg-August University of Göttingen in 1905...
and Adolf Hammerstein, and received his doctorate from the University of Berlin in 1933. However, as a Jew, he had to leave Germany shortly afterwards to avoid Nazi persecution. After a short period in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
in the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Michael Golomb arrived in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1939, when he turned to applied mathematics. He was one of the first mathematicians to apply normed vector space
Normed vector space
In mathematics, with 2- or 3-dimensional vectors with real-valued entries, the idea of the "length" of a vector is intuitive and can easily be extended to any real vector space Rn. The following properties of "vector length" are crucial....
s in numerical analysis
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
. He taught mathematics http://www.math.purdue.edu at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
from 1942 until his retirement in 1975, at times holding joint appointment with the Schools of Engineering. He continued to teach as Professor Emeritus.
In 1998 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...
, Michael Golomb was honored as part of a special exhibition entitled "Terror and Exile: Persecuted and expelled Berlin mathematicians in the time of the Nazi regime." The exhibition was organized by the city of 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...
to coincide with 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 ....
there. His Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
is 1.