Elon Lages Lima (July 9, 1929 – May 7, 2017) was a Brazilian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

whose research concerned

differential topology In mathematics, differential topology is the field dealing with the topological properties and smooth properties of smooth manifolds. In this sense differential topology is distinct from the closely related field of differential geometry, which ...

algebraic topology Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariant (mathematics), invariants that classification theorem, classify topological spaces up t ...

, and

differential geometry Differential geometry is a Mathematics, mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of Calculus, single variable calculus, vector calculus, lin ...

. Lima was an influential figure in the development of mathematics in Brazil. Lima was professor emeritus at

Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada The ''Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada'' (National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics) is considered to be the foremost research and educational institution of Brazil in the area of mathematics. It is located in the cit ...

of which he was the director during three separate periods. Lima has been twice recipient of the

Prêmio Jabuti The Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize") is the most traditional literary award in Brazil, given by the . It was conceived by Edgard Cavalheiro in 1959 when he presided over the CBL, with the interest of rewarding authors, editors, illustrators, ...

from the ''

Câmara Brasileira do Livro Câmara (meaning " chamber") is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It may also refer to: People * António de Vasconcelos e Sousa Câmara Caminha Faro e Veiga, 8th Count of Calheta, 4th Marquis of Castelo Melhor and Constable of Portuga ...

'', for his textbooks ''Espaços Métricos'' and ''Álgebra Linear'', and of the Anísio Teixeira Prize from the Ministry of Education and Sports. His mathematical style was heavily influenced by

Bourbaki Bourbaki(s) may refer to : Persons and science * Charles-Denis Bourbaki (1816–1897), French general, son of Constantin Denis Bourbaki * Colonel Constantin Denis Bourbaki (1787–1827), officer in the Greek War of Independence and serving in the ...

's.

Biography

He began his career as a high school teacher in

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

. Lima graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

from the

Universidade do Brasil The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (, UFRJ) is a public research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites ...

(today

UFRJ The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (, UFRJ) is a public research university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the country and is one of the Brazilian centers of excellence in teaching and research. Brazil's ...

) in 1953. He obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1958 from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

with Edwin Henry Spanier as advisor. He is a former

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

, and holds memberships in the ''

Academia Brasileira de Ciências An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

'' (Brazilian Academy of Sciences) and the TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. He is a professor

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of the

Universidade Federal do Ceará The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

and of the

University of Brasília A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He was a member of the Upper Board of FAPERJ from 1987 to 1991. He was also a member of the National Board of Education. He wrote over thirty books in

, some of which are intended for

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

teachers. Between 1990 and 1995, he coordinated the IMPA-VITAE project, which held skills improvement courses for mathematics teachers in eleven cities from eight states throughout Brazil. He received the ''grã-cruz'' ("Great Cross") of the ''

Ordem Nacional do Mérito Científico The National Order of Scientific Merit () is an honor bestowed upon Brazilian and foreign personalities recognized for their scientific and technical contributions to the cause and development of science in Brazil Brazil, officially the Feder ...

'' ("National Order of Scientific Merit") of Brazil.

Selected publications

*Lima, E. L. (1964).
Common singularities of commuting vector fields on 2-manifolds
. ''

Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici The ''Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal in mathematics. The Swiss Mathematical Society (SMG) started the journal in 1929 after a meeting in May of the previous year. The Swiss Mathematical Socie ...

''. vol. 39, pp. 97–110. *Lima, E. L. (1965).
Commuting vector fields on S3
. ''

Annals of Mathematics The ''Annals of Mathematics'' is a mathematical journal published every two months by Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study. History The journal was established as ''The Analyst'' in 1874 and with Joel E. Hendricks as t ...

''. vol. 81, pp. 70–88. * do Carmo, M. and Lima, E. L. (1969).
Isometric immersions with semi-definite second quadratic forms
. ''

Archiv der Mathematik '' Archiv der Mathematik'' is a peer-reviewed mathematics journal published by Springer, established in 1948. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

'' vol. 20, pp. 173–175. *Lima, E. L. (1987).
Orientability of smooth hypersurfaces and the Jordan-Brouwer separation theorem
. ''

Expositiones Mathematicae ''Expositiones Mathematicae'' is a peer-reviewed mathematical journal. The journal was established in 1983. It has been published by Elsevier since 2001. It is published 6 times a year and is edited by Liming Ge. Abstracting and indexing The jour ...

''. vol. 5, pp. 283–286.

Notes

Silva, C. P. . "Sobre o início e consolidação da pesquisa matemática no Brasil, Parte 2", Revista Brasileira de História da Matemática (RBHM), Vol. 6, n. 12, p. 165-196, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lima, Elon Lages 1929 births 2017 deaths People from Maceió University of Chicago alumni Recipients of the Great Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Topologists Textbook writers Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada researchers Members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences 21st-century Brazilian mathematicians 20th-century Brazilian mathematicians 20th-century Brazilian writers 20th-century Brazilian educators 21st-century Brazilian educators 21st-century Brazilian writers Brazilian non-fiction writers

Biography

Selected publications

See also

Notes