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{{short description|American mathematician}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = William Jaco
| name = William Jaco
| image = William Jaco.jpg
| image = William Jaco.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption = William Jaco at [[Mathematical Research Institute of Oberwolfach|Oberwolfach]] in 2012
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|7|14|mf=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|7|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Grafton, West Virginia]], [[United States]]
| birth_place = [[Grafton, West Virginia]], [[United States]]
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Stillwater, Oklahoma]], [[United States]]
| nationality =
| nationality =
| fields = [[Mathematics]], [[Topology]], and [[Geometry]]
| fields = [[Mathematics]], [[Topology]], and [[Geometry]]
| workplaces = [[Oklahoma State University]]
| workplaces = [[Rice University]], [[Oklahoma State University]]
| alma_mater = B.A., [[Fairmont State College]]; M.A., [[Penn State]]; Ph.D (1968) [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]
| alma_mater = B.A., [[Fairmont State College]]<br> M.A., [[Pennsylvania State University]]<br> Ph.D (1968) [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = [[JSJ decomposition]]
| known_for = [[JSJ decomposition]]
| awards = Grace B. Kerr Professor
| awards = Grace B. Kerr Professor
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}


'''William "Bus" H. Jaco''' (born July 14, 1940 in [[Grafton, West Virginia]]) is an American [[mathematician]] who is known for his role in the [[JSJ decomposition|Jaco–Shalen–Johannson decomposition]] theorem and efficient triangulations of 3-manifolds. He retired from Oklahoma State University in 2021 as Regents Professor Emeritus and appointed adjunct professor at [[Rice University]] in 2021.
'''Dr. William "Bus" H. Jaco''' (b. July 14, 1940 in [[Grafton, West Virginia]]) is an American [[mathematician]], who currently resides in [[Stillwater, Oklahoma]]. Jaco's contributions to mathematics have been many and varied. Best known among [[3-manifold]] theorists for his major role in the Jaco-Shalen-Johannson decomposition [[JSJ decomposition]] theorem, he has also contributed across many other areas. With influential terms as Executive Officer of the [[American Mathematical Society]], Head of Department at [[Oklahoma State University]] and extensive on-going service across local and national levels, he has played a significant role in the shape of the profession today. He also maintains an active research programme, focused on Triangulations, Normal Surfaces and [[Algorithms]] associated to these techniques. He currently researches and teaches at [[Oklahoma State University]] where he holds distinguished titles such as [[Regents Professor]] (2008)<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco|first=William|title=Regent's Professor Status|url=http://regentsprofessors.okstate.edu/regents-professors|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref> and Grace B. Kerr Professor.


==Education and career==
In 2005, Jaco traveled to [[Peking University]] in [[Beijing, China]] to teach a summer course in Topology. The class met six hours a week and had 70 students, including a host professor, Wang Shicheng.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco|first=William|title=Peking University|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/pekinglectures.htm|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>

Jaco received a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A]] from the [[Fairmont State College]] and an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] from [[Pennsylvania State University]]. He completed his [[Ph.D.]] in 1968 at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]].

He held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and Rice University before joining the faculty at Oklahoma State University as Head of the Mathematics Dept. from 1982–87 and again served as head from 2011–2018. He has been a member of the [[Institute for Advanced Study]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ias.edu/scholars/william-jaco |title=William Jaco |website=[[Institute for Advanced Study]] |accessdate=26 April 2019}}</ref> (IAS) the [[Mathematical Sciences Research Institute]] (MSRI), and the [[American Institute of Mathematics]] (AIM).

He served as the Executive Director of the [[American Mathematical Society]] (AMS), the Chair-elect, Chair, and Retiring Chair of the Mathematics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as a member of the Advisory Board of the American Institute of Mathematics, as a member of the Board of Mathematical Sciences at the National Research Council/[[National Academy of Sciences]], as a member of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. He was an elected member of the Board of Trustees of the American Mathematical Society serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees, 2014–2015.

One of his doctoral students (joint with [[Karol Borsuk]]) was [[Krystyna Kuperberg]].


==Awards and honors==
==Awards and honors==
In 1998 he was elected fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)]] and in 2012 he became a fellow of the [[American Mathematical Society]] where he is an Honorary Life Member.<ref>[http://www.ams.org/profession/fellows-list List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society], retrieved 2013-01-26.</ref> He is an Honorary Associate Member of the Moscow Mathematical Society and has received Honorary Recognition for Service to St. Petersburg and Russian Mathematics and Mathematicians. He was elected Honorary Member of [[Phi Beta Kappa]] in 2020.
⚫
To commemorate Jaco's birthday and his outstanding career as a mathematician, [[Oklahoma State University]] held a Topology Conference called Jacofest in June 2010<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco|first=William|title=Jaco's Birthday Conference|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/jacofest/|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref> at which people from all over the world came to speak on the subject. This list includes professors from [[University of Southern California]], [[Boston College]], [[BYU]], [[The University of Melbourne]], [[University of Queensland]], and many more.<ref>{{cite web|last=William|first=Jaco|title=Jacofest|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/jacofest/schedule.html|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>


Jaco has held the distinguished positions of Regents Professor (2008)<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco|first=William|title=Regent's Professor Status|url=http://regentsprofessors.okstate.edu/regents-professors|accessdate=14 December 2011|archive-date=1 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301201346/http://regentsprofessors.okstate.edu/regents-professors|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Grace B. Kerr Professor at [[Oklahoma State University]] where he was recognized as the 2017 Eminent Faculty Member and in 2019 recognized as Regents Distinguished Research Faculty member. He has also held the Lois and Fred Gehring Distinguished Visitor Chair at University of Michigan.
In 2012 he became a fellow of the [[American Mathematical Society]].<ref>[http://www.ams.org/profession/fellows-list List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society], retrieved 2013-01-26.</ref>
⚫
To commemorate Jaco's 70th birthday and his career as a mathematician, [[Oklahoma State University]] held a conference in topology called Jacofest in June 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco|first=William|title=Jaco's Birthday Conference|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/jacofest/|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref> He was elected an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Chapter of Oklahoma, and inducted into the [[Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame]], both in 2019.


==Education==
==Research==
His mathematical research is in Geometry and Topology where he studies low-dimensional manifolds, decision problems, algorithms and complexity theory. He is best known for the [[JSJ decomposition|Jaco–Shalen–Johannson decomposition]] Theorem, his work on [[normal surface]]s, and the co-discovery of efficient triangulations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Hyam|title=0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/0-efficient-new.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011|archive-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206004049/http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/0-efficient-new.ps|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Bachelor's of Arts at [[Fairmont State College]]
*Master's of Arts at [[Penn State]]
*Ph. D in 1968 at [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]


==Publications==
==Publications==
*William Jaco ''Lectures on Three-Manifold Topology'' ISBN 0-8218-1693-4
*William Jaco ''Lectures on Three-Manifold Topology'' {{ISBN|0-8218-1693-4}}
*W. H. Jaco, P. B. Shalen ''Seifert Fibered Spaces in Three Manifolds: Memoirs Series No. 220 (Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society ; v. 21, no. 220) ISBN 0-8218-2220-9
*W. H. Jaco, P. B. Shalen ''Seifert Fibered Spaces in Three Manifolds'': Memoirs Series No. 220 (Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society; v. 21, no. 220) {{ISBN|0-8218-2220-9}}
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & Stephan Tillman "Z2 –Thurston Norm and Complexity of 3–Manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman|title=Z2 - Thurston Norm and Complexity of 3-Manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/min-thurston-norm.pdf|accessdate=13 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & Stephan Tillman "Z2 –Thurston Norm and Complexity of 3–Manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman|title=Z2 - Thurston Norm and Complexity of 3-Manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/min-thurston-norm.pdf|accessdate=13 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & Stephan Tillman "Coverings and Minimal Triangulations of 3–Manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman|title=Coverings and Minimal Triangulations of 3-Manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/min-cover.pdf|accessdate=13 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & Stephan Tillman "Coverings and Minimal Triangulations of 3–Manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman|title=Coverings and Minimal Triangulations of 3-Manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/min-cover.pdf|accessdate=13 December 2011}}</ref>
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*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & Eric Sedgwick "Finding planar surfaces in knot- and link-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein, Sedgwick|title=Finding planar surfaces in knot- and link-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/Find_Planar-submit-edit.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & Eric Sedgwick "Finding planar surfaces in knot- and link-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein, Sedgwick|title=Finding planar surfaces in knot- and link-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/Find_Planar-submit-edit.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco & [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]] "Layered-triangulations of 3-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein|title=Layered-triangulations of 3-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/layered-triangs-submit.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco & [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]] "Layered-triangulations of 3-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Rubinstein|title=Layered-triangulations of 3-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/layered-triangs-submit.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco & [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]] "0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Hyam|title=0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/0-efficient-new.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco & [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]] "0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Hyam|title=0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/0-efficient-new.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011|archive-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206004049/http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/0-efficient-new.ps|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*William Jaco & Eric Sedgwick "Decision problems in the space of Dehn fillings" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Sedgwick|title=Decision problems in the space of Dehn fillings|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/decision_dehn_e.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco & Eric Sedgwick "Decision problems in the space of Dehn fillings" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Sedgwick|title=Decision problems in the space of Dehn fillings|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/decision_dehn_e.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & David Letscher "Algorithms for essential surfaces in 3-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Letscher, Rubinstein|title=Algorithms for essential surfaces in 3-Manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/algorithms7.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
*William Jaco, [[J. Hyam Rubinstein]], & David Letscher "Algorithms for essential surfaces in 3-manifolds" <ref>{{cite web|last=Jaco, Letscher, Rubinstein|title=Algorithms for essential surfaces in 3-Manifolds|url=http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/Documents/algorithms7.ps|accessdate=14 December 2011}}</ref>
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*[http://www.math.okstate.edu/user/21/ Oklahoma State Bio] of W. Jaco
*[http://www.math.okstate.edu/user/21/ Oklahoma State Bio] of W. Jaco
*{{MathGenealogy|id=677}}
*{{MathGenealogy|id=677}}
*[http://www.math.okstate.edu/~jaco/ Home page] of W. Jaco


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Jaco, William
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American mathematician
| DATE OF BIRTH = July 14, 1940
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Grafton, West Virginia]], [[United States]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaco, William}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaco, William}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:1940 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century American mathematicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American mathematicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American mathematicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American mathematicians]]
[[Category:Topologists]]
[[Category:American topologists]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:Oklahoma State University faculty]]
[[Category:Oklahoma State University faculty]]
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[[Category:Fellows of the American Mathematical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Mathematical Society]]
[[Category:People from Stillwater, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:People from Stillwater, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Mathematicians from West Virginia]]

Revision as of 21:24, 1 August 2024

William Jaco
William Jaco at Oberwolfach in 2012
Born (1940-07-14) July 14, 1940 (age 84)
Grafton, West Virginia, United States
Alma materB.A., Fairmont State College
M.A., Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D (1968) University of Wisconsin-Madison
Known forJSJ decomposition
AwardsGrace B. Kerr Professor
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics, Topology, and Geometry
InstitutionsRice University, Oklahoma State University

William "Bus" H. Jaco (born July 14, 1940 in Grafton, West Virginia) is an American mathematician who is known for his role in the Jaco–Shalen–Johannson decomposition theorem and efficient triangulations of 3-manifolds. He retired from Oklahoma State University in 2021 as Regents Professor Emeritus and appointed adjunct professor at Rice University in 2021.

Education and career

Jaco received a B.A from the Fairmont State College and an M.A. from Pennsylvania State University. He completed his Ph.D. in 1968 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and Rice University before joining the faculty at Oklahoma State University as Head of the Mathematics Dept. from 1982–87 and again served as head from 2011–2018. He has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study,[1] (IAS) the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), and the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM).

He served as the Executive Director of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the Chair-elect, Chair, and Retiring Chair of the Mathematics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as a member of the Advisory Board of the American Institute of Mathematics, as a member of the Board of Mathematical Sciences at the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences, as a member of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. He was an elected member of the Board of Trustees of the American Mathematical Society serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees, 2014–2015.

One of his doctoral students (joint with Karol Borsuk) was Krystyna Kuperberg.

Awards and honors

In 1998 he was elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and in 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society where he is an Honorary Life Member.[2] He is an Honorary Associate Member of the Moscow Mathematical Society and has received Honorary Recognition for Service to St. Petersburg and Russian Mathematics and Mathematicians. He was elected Honorary Member of Phi Beta Kappa in 2020.

Jaco has held the distinguished positions of Regents Professor (2008)[3] and Grace B. Kerr Professor at Oklahoma State University where he was recognized as the 2017 Eminent Faculty Member and in 2019 recognized as Regents Distinguished Research Faculty member. He has also held the Lois and Fred Gehring Distinguished Visitor Chair at University of Michigan. To commemorate Jaco's 70th birthday and his career as a mathematician, Oklahoma State University held a conference in topology called Jacofest in June 2010.[4] He was elected an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Chapter of Oklahoma, and inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame, both in 2019.

Research

His mathematical research is in Geometry and Topology where he studies low-dimensional manifolds, decision problems, algorithms and complexity theory. He is best known for the Jaco–Shalen–Johannson decomposition Theorem, his work on normal surfaces, and the co-discovery of efficient triangulations.[5]

Publications

  • William Jaco Lectures on Three-Manifold Topology ISBN 0-8218-1693-4
  • W. H. Jaco, P. B. Shalen Seifert Fibered Spaces in Three Manifolds: Memoirs Series No. 220 (Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society; v. 21, no. 220) ISBN 0-8218-2220-9
  • William Jaco, J. Hyam Rubinstein, & Stephan Tillman "Z2 –Thurston Norm and Complexity of 3–Manifolds" [6]
  • William Jaco, J. Hyam Rubinstein, & Stephan Tillman "Coverings and Minimal Triangulations of 3–Manifolds" [7]
  • William Jaco, J. Hyam Rubinstein, & Stephan Tillman "Minimal triangulations for an infinite family of lens spaces" [8]
  • William Jaco, J. Hyam Rubinstein, & Eric Sedgwick "Finding planar surfaces in knot- and link-manifolds" [9]
  • William Jaco & J. Hyam Rubinstein "Layered-triangulations of 3-manifolds" [10]
  • William Jaco & J. Hyam Rubinstein "0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds" [11]
  • William Jaco & Eric Sedgwick "Decision problems in the space of Dehn fillings" [12]
  • William Jaco, J. Hyam Rubinstein, & David Letscher "Algorithms for essential surfaces in 3-manifolds" [13]

References

  1. ^ "William Jaco". Institute for Advanced Study. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  2. ^ List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2013-01-26.
  3. ^ Jaco, William. "Regent's Professor Status". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  4. ^ Jaco, William. "Jaco's Birthday Conference". Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  5. ^ Jaco, Hyam. "0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  6. ^ Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman. "Z2 - Thurston Norm and Complexity of 3-Manifolds" (PDF). Retrieved 13 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman. "Coverings and Minimal Triangulations of 3-Manifolds" (PDF). Retrieved 13 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Jaco, Rubinstein, Tillman. "Minimal Triangulations for an Infinite Family of Lens Spaces" (PDF). Retrieved 13 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Jaco, Rubinstein, Sedgwick. "Finding planar surfaces in knot- and link-manifolds". Retrieved 14 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Jaco, Rubinstein. "Layered-triangulations of 3-manifolds". Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  11. ^ Jaco, Hyam. "0-efficient triangulations of three-manifolds". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  12. ^ Jaco, Sedgwick. "Decision problems in the space of Dehn fillings". Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  13. ^ Jaco, Letscher, Rubinstein. "Algorithms for essential surfaces in 3-Manifolds". Retrieved 14 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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