Lambertus Adrianus "Bert" Peletier (29 March 1937 – 16 December 2023) was a Dutch mathematician. He was a professor of

analysis Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

and

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

from 1977 until his retirement in 2002.

Life

Lambertus Adrianus Peletier was born on 9 March 1937 in Rijswijk. His grandfather was a socialist Dutch minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, who lived with his family during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Peletier's father was an engineer working for Shell plc and took him to his laboratory. He was interested in technique from a young age and desired to pursue a technical study. His maths teacher inspired him to study physics. Peletier thus studied

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

. After graduating, Peletier had the opportunity to study one year at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and became inspired by academic life. In 1967 he obtained his PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology, with a thesis titled: ''"On a class of wave equations"''. He subsequently spent time abroad at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

and

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and became more inspired by

. In 1977 he became professor of

and applied mathematics at

. He retired in 2002. His expertise lay in the field of nonlinear analysis. During the latter part of his career, in the late 1990s, he applied mathematics for the development of medicine. He especially focused on the latter after his retirement and worked intensively with pharmacologists. In 1995 he was one of the founders of the Lorentz Center, an institute for the organization of interactive workshops in the sciences. Peletier was elected a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

in 1989. He was elected a member of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999. Peletier was elected a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in 2009. In April 2013 Peletier was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. Peletier died in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

on 16 December 2023, at the age of 86.

References

External links

Profile
at the Mathematics Genealogy Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Peletier, Bert 1937 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Dutch mathematicians 21st-century Dutch mathematicians Academic staff of Leiden University Applied mathematicians Delft University of Technology alumni Eindhoven University of Technology alumni Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Mathematical analysts Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Rijswijk