Jump to content

Mary Ellen Rudin: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Rlupton20 (talk | contribs)
16 edits
Tidied publication.
Rlupton20 (talk | contribs)
16 edits
Added reference for Erdos number.
Line 3: Line 3:
Born '''Mary Ellen Estill''', she attended the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]], completing her B.A. in 1944 and her Ph.D. in 1949, under [[Robert Lee Moore]].<ref>{{MathGenealogy |id=308}}</ref> During her time as an undergraduate, she was a member of the [[Phi Mu]] Women's Fraternity,<ref name="Phi Mu">{{cite book|title=Cactus Yearbook|year=1944|publisher=University of Texas|location=Austin, TX|page=394|url=http://mediasvc.ancestrylibrary.com/image/5b19bc58b519aa1a1e6a8459c726af42/128677668.jpg?MaxWidth=4500&MaxHeight=4500&Enhancement=AdaptiveContrast&ImageQuality=UltraHighQuality&client=SUI&version=cJ_HXtIBzwg}}</ref> and was elected to the [[Phi Beta Kappa]] society.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cactus Yearbook|year=1945|publisher=University of Texas|location=Austin, TX|page=141|url=http://mediasvc.ancestrylibrary.com/image/ac3541c932af215e09ea1af498ca461b/413209969.jpg?MaxWidth=4500&MaxHeight=4500&Enhancement=AdaptiveContrast&ImageQuality=UltraHighQuality&client=SUI&version=sPf5lNlJzwg}}</ref> In 1953, she married the mathematician [[Walter Rudin]]. Following her mentor Moore, her research centered on [[point-set topology]]. She was appointed as Professor of Mathematics at the [[University of Wisconsin at Madison|University of Wisconsin]] in 1971, and after retirement served as a Professor Emerita there. She served as vice-president of the [[American Mathematical Society]], 1980–1981. In 1984 she was selected to be a [[Noether Lecturer]]. She was an honorary member of the [[Hungarian Academy of Sciences]] (1995). In 2012 she 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 2013-07-07.</ref>
Born '''Mary Ellen Estill''', she attended the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]], completing her B.A. in 1944 and her Ph.D. in 1949, under [[Robert Lee Moore]].<ref>{{MathGenealogy |id=308}}</ref> During her time as an undergraduate, she was a member of the [[Phi Mu]] Women's Fraternity,<ref name="Phi Mu">{{cite book|title=Cactus Yearbook|year=1944|publisher=University of Texas|location=Austin, TX|page=394|url=http://mediasvc.ancestrylibrary.com/image/5b19bc58b519aa1a1e6a8459c726af42/128677668.jpg?MaxWidth=4500&MaxHeight=4500&Enhancement=AdaptiveContrast&ImageQuality=UltraHighQuality&client=SUI&version=cJ_HXtIBzwg}}</ref> and was elected to the [[Phi Beta Kappa]] society.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cactus Yearbook|year=1945|publisher=University of Texas|location=Austin, TX|page=141|url=http://mediasvc.ancestrylibrary.com/image/ac3541c932af215e09ea1af498ca461b/413209969.jpg?MaxWidth=4500&MaxHeight=4500&Enhancement=AdaptiveContrast&ImageQuality=UltraHighQuality&client=SUI&version=sPf5lNlJzwg}}</ref> In 1953, she married the mathematician [[Walter Rudin]]. Following her mentor Moore, her research centered on [[point-set topology]]. She was appointed as Professor of Mathematics at the [[University of Wisconsin at Madison|University of Wisconsin]] in 1971, and after retirement served as a Professor Emerita there. She served as vice-president of the [[American Mathematical Society]], 1980–1981. In 1984 she was selected to be a [[Noether Lecturer]]. She was an honorary member of the [[Hungarian Academy of Sciences]] (1995). In 2012 she 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 2013-07-07.</ref>


Rudin is best known in [[topology]] for her constructions of counterexamples to well-known conjectures. Most famously, she was the first to construct a [[ZFC]] [[Dowker space]],<ref name=Szeptycki1996>{{cite web|last1=Szeptycki|first1=Paul|title=Dowker spaces|url=http://at.yorku.ca/z/a/a/b/16.htm|website=Topology Atlas|accessdate=14 October 2014}}</ref> thus disproving a conjecture of Dowker's that had stood, and helped drive topological research, for more than twenty years. Her example fuelled the search for "small" ZFC Dowker spaces.<ref name=Szeptycki1996></ref> She also proved the first [[Morita conjectures|Morita conjecture]] and a restricted version of the second.<ref>K. Chiba, T.C. Przymusiński, M.E. Rudin, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016686418690074X "Normality of products and Morita's conjectures"] ''Topol. Appl.'' '''22''' (1986) 19–32</ref> Her last major result was a proof of [[Nikiel's conjecture]].<ref>M.E. Rudin, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166864101002188 "Nikiel's Conjecture"] ''Topol. Appl.'' '''116''' (2001) 305–331</ref> Rudin's [[Erdős number]] is 1.
Rudin is best known in [[topology]] for her constructions of counterexamples to well-known conjectures. Most famously, she was the first to construct a [[ZFC]] [[Dowker space]],<ref name=Szeptycki1996>{{cite web|last1=Szeptycki|first1=Paul|title=Dowker spaces|url=http://at.yorku.ca/z/a/a/b/16.htm|website=Topology Atlas|accessdate=14 October 2014}}</ref> thus disproving a conjecture of Dowker's that had stood, and helped drive topological research, for more than twenty years. Her example fuelled the search for "small" ZFC Dowker spaces.<ref name=Szeptycki1996></ref> She also proved the first [[Morita conjectures|Morita conjecture]] and a restricted version of the second.<ref>K. Chiba, T.C. Przymusiński, M.E. Rudin, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016686418690074X "Normality of products and Morita's conjectures"] ''Topol. Appl.'' '''22''' (1986) 19–32</ref> Her last major result was a proof of [[Nikiel's conjecture]].<ref>M.E. Rudin, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166864101002188 "Nikiel's Conjecture"] ''Topol. Appl.'' '''116''' (2001) 305–331</ref> Rudin's [[Erdős number]] is 1.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Ellen Rudin|website=http://planetmath.org/maryellenrudin}}</ref>


"Reading the articles of Mary Ellen Rudin, studying them until there is no mystery takes hours and hours; but those hours are rewarded, the student obtains power to which few have access. They are not hard to read, they are just hard mathematics, that's all." (Steve Watson<ref>W. S. Watson: Mary Ellen Rudin's early work on Suslin spaces, in: ''The work of Mary Ellen Rudin'', (Madison, WI, 1991), 168&ndash;182, Ann. New York Acad. Sci., '''705''', New York Acad. Sci., New York, 1993;</ref>)
"Reading the articles of Mary Ellen Rudin, studying them until there is no mystery takes hours and hours; but those hours are rewarded, the student obtains power to which few have access. They are not hard to read, they are just hard mathematics, that's all." (Steve Watson<ref>W. S. Watson: Mary Ellen Rudin's early work on Suslin spaces, in: ''The work of Mary Ellen Rudin'', (Madison, WI, 1991), 168&ndash;182, Ann. New York Acad. Sci., '''705''', New York Acad. Sci., New York, 1993;</ref>)

Revision as of 15:55, 14 October 2014

Mary Ellen Rudin (December 7, 1924 – March 18, 2013) was an American mathematician.[1]

Born Mary Ellen Estill, she attended the University of Texas, completing her B.A. in 1944 and her Ph.D. in 1949, under Robert Lee Moore.[2] During her time as an undergraduate, she was a member of the Phi Mu Women's Fraternity,[3] and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society.[4] In 1953, she married the mathematician Walter Rudin. Following her mentor Moore, her research centered on point-set topology. She was appointed as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin in 1971, and after retirement served as a Professor Emerita there. She served as vice-president of the American Mathematical Society, 1980–1981. In 1984 she was selected to be a Noether Lecturer. She was an honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1995). In 2012 she became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.[5]

Rudin is best known in topology for her constructions of counterexamples to well-known conjectures. Most famously, she was the first to construct a ZFC Dowker space,[6] thus disproving a conjecture of Dowker's that had stood, and helped drive topological research, for more than twenty years. Her example fuelled the search for "small" ZFC Dowker spaces.[6] She also proved the first Morita conjecture and a restricted version of the second.[7] Her last major result was a proof of Nikiel's conjecture.[8] Rudin's Erdős number is 1.[9]

"Reading the articles of Mary Ellen Rudin, studying them until there is no mystery takes hours and hours; but those hours are rewarded, the student obtains power to which few have access. They are not hard to read, they are just hard mathematics, that's all." (Steve Watson[10])

She resided in Madison, Wisconsin, in the Rudin House, a home designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Publications

  • Rudin, Mary Ellen (1975). Lectures on set theoretic topology (Rep. with corr. ed.). Providence: Published for the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences by the American Mathematical Society. ISBN 082181673X.
  • Rudin, Mary Ellen (1984). Dowker spaces (in the Handbook of set-theoretic topology). Amsterdam u.a.: North-Holland. pp. 761--780. ISBN 0444865802.

References

  1. ^ "Mary Ellen Rudin (December 7, 1924 – March 18, 2013)". webpage of Topology and its Applications published by Elsevier. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  2. ^ Mary Ellen Rudin at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. ^ Cactus Yearbook. Austin, TX: University of Texas. 1944. p. 394.
  4. ^ Cactus Yearbook. Austin, TX: University of Texas. 1945. p. 141.
  5. ^ List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2013-07-07.
  6. ^ a b Szeptycki, Paul. "Dowker spaces". Topology Atlas. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  7. ^ K. Chiba, T.C. Przymusiński, M.E. Rudin, "Normality of products and Morita's conjectures" Topol. Appl. 22 (1986) 19–32
  8. ^ M.E. Rudin, "Nikiel's Conjecture" Topol. Appl. 116 (2001) 305–331
  9. ^ "Mary Ellen Rudin". http://planetmath.org/maryellenrudin. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  10. ^ W. S. Watson: Mary Ellen Rudin's early work on Suslin spaces, in: The work of Mary Ellen Rudin, (Madison, WI, 1991), 168–182, Ann. New York Acad. Sci., 705, New York Acad. Sci., New York, 1993;

Further reading

  • "Mary Ellen Rudin", More Mathematical People: Contemporary Conversations, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990, pp. 282–302, ISBN 0-15-158175-4 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)

Template:Persondata

Flag of United StatesScientist icon

This article about an American mathematician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Mary_Ellen_Rudin&oldid=629590300"