Pao Ming Pu
Encyclopedia
Pao Ming Pu was a mathematician born in Jintang County
, Sichuan
, China
.
He was a student of Charles Loewner
and a pioneer of systolic geometry, having proved what is today called Pu's inequality for the real projective plane
, following Loewner's proof of Loewner's torus inequality
. He later worked in the area of fuzzy mathematics
. He spent much of his career as professor and chairman of the department of mathematics at Sichuan University
.
in 1950 under the supervision of Charles Loewner
, resulting in the publication in 1952 of the seminal paper
containing both Pu's inequality for the real projective plane and Loewner's torus inequality
.
The listing at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
indicates that his first name, according to Syracuse University records, was Frank..
Pu returned to mainland China in February 1951. (Katz '07) suggests that Pu may have been forced to return to the mainland by the communist authorities, as there was apparently a wave of recalls of Chinese academics working in the West following Chiang Kai-shek
's ouster from the mainland in 1949.
After his return, Pu became a professor at Sichuan University
in 1952. He served as head of the department of mathematics from 1952 to 1984. While he was apparently unable to supervise graduate students during most of his scientific career, he became one of the first group of supervisors for graduate students (bóshìshēng dǎoshī) at the age of 71, four years after the end of the Cultural Revolution
.
Most of his later papers concern fuzzy topology
.
Pu's seminal article from 1952 is cited by at least 93 mathematical works, a high score by mathematical standards. His joint work with Liu in fuzzy topology
continues to be cited frequently in current literature in fuzzy mathematics.
Jintang County
Jintang County is a county in the eastern part of Chengdu City, the capital of Sichuan province, in Southwest China. Located approximately 28 kilometers away from downtown Chengdu, the county covers 1154 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 870,000. The large majority of the...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
He was a student of Charles Loewner
Charles Loewner
Charles Loewner was an American mathematician. His name was Karel Löwner in Czech and Karl Löwner in German.Loewner received his Ph.D...
and a pioneer of systolic geometry, having proved what is today called Pu's inequality for the real projective plane
Real projective plane
In mathematics, the real projective plane is an example of a compact non-orientable two-dimensional manifold, that is, a one-sided surface. It cannot be embedded in our usual three-dimensional space without intersecting itself...
, following Loewner's proof of Loewner's torus inequality
Loewner's torus inequality
In differential geometry, Loewner's torus inequality is an inequality due to Charles Loewner. It relates the systole and the area of an arbitrary Riemannian metric on the 2-torus.-Statement:...
. He later worked in the area of fuzzy mathematics
Fuzzy mathematics
Fuzzy mathematics forms a branch of mathematics related to fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic. It started in 1965 after the publication of Lotfi Asker Zadeh's seminal work Fuzzy sets. A fuzzy subset A of a set X is a function A:X→L, where L is the interval [0,1]. This function is also called a...
. He spent much of his career as professor and chairman of the department of mathematics at Sichuan University
Sichuan University
Sichuan University is one of the oldest national universities in China. It is ranked No. 8 among the Chinese universities according to the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities....
.
Biography
Pu received his Ph.D. at Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in 1950 under the supervision of Charles Loewner
Charles Loewner
Charles Loewner was an American mathematician. His name was Karel Löwner in Czech and Karl Löwner in German.Loewner received his Ph.D...
, resulting in the publication in 1952 of the seminal paper
containing both Pu's inequality for the real projective plane and Loewner's torus inequality
Loewner's torus inequality
In differential geometry, Loewner's torus inequality is an inequality due to Charles Loewner. It relates the systole and the area of an arbitrary Riemannian metric on the 2-torus.-Statement:...
.
The listing at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
Mathematics Genealogy Project
The Mathematics Genealogy Project is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians. As of September, 2010, it contained information on approximately 145,000 mathematical scientists who contribute to "research-level mathematics"...
indicates that his first name, according to Syracuse University records, was Frank..
Pu returned to mainland China in February 1951. (Katz '07) suggests that Pu may have been forced to return to the mainland by the communist authorities, as there was apparently a wave of recalls of Chinese academics working in the West following Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
's ouster from the mainland in 1949.
After his return, Pu became a professor at Sichuan University
Sichuan University
Sichuan University is one of the oldest national universities in China. It is ranked No. 8 among the Chinese universities according to the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities....
in 1952. He served as head of the department of mathematics from 1952 to 1984. While he was apparently unable to supervise graduate students during most of his scientific career, he became one of the first group of supervisors for graduate students (bóshìshēng dǎoshī) at the age of 71, four years after the end of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
.
Most of his later papers concern fuzzy topology
Fuzzy mathematics
Fuzzy mathematics forms a branch of mathematics related to fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic. It started in 1965 after the publication of Lotfi Asker Zadeh's seminal work Fuzzy sets. A fuzzy subset A of a set X is a function A:X→L, where L is the interval [0,1]. This function is also called a...
.
Influence
According to Google Scholar,Pu's seminal article from 1952 is cited by at least 93 mathematical works, a high score by mathematical standards. His joint work with Liu in fuzzy topology
continues to be cited frequently in current literature in fuzzy mathematics.