Daniel E. Gorenstein (January 1, 1923 – August 26, 1992) was an American
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 ...
best remembered for his contribution to the
classification of finite simple groups
In mathematics, the classification of finite simple groups (popularly called the enormous theorem) is a result of group theory stating that every List of finite simple groups, finite simple group is either cyclic group, cyclic, or alternating gro ...
.
Gorenstein mastered calculus at age 12 and subsequently matriculated at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
,
where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees.
During the Second World War, he taught mathematics to military personnel.
After the war, he stayed at Harvard and earned his PhD 1950 under the supervision of
Oscar Zariski. In his dissertation, Gorenstein introduced a duality principle for plane curves that motivated
Alexander Grothendieck
Alexander Grothendieck, later Alexandre Grothendieck in French (; ; ; 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014), was a German-born French mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry. His research ext ...
's introduction of
Gorenstein rings. Gorenstein held posts at
Clark University and
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
, before moving to
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
in 1969, where he remained for the rest of his life. He became the founding director of the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (
DIMACS) at Rutgers in 1989, and remained at this post until his death.
He was recognized, in addition to his own research contributions such as work on
signalizer functors, as a leader in directing the classification of finite simple groups, one of the largest collaborative pieces of
pure mathematics
Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications ...
ever attempted.
In 1972 he was a
Guggenheim Fellow and a
Fulbright Scholar. In 1978 he gained membership in the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. In 1989 Gorenstein won the
Steele Prize in mathematical exposition from the
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
for his book, ''Finite Simple Groups: An Introduction to Their Classification'' (1982).
In 1985, he wrote an article explaining his mathematical work to the layperson for the ''
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...
''.
He died in 1992 after a brief illness. He was 69 years old.
See also
*
Gorenstein–Harada theorem
*
Gorenstein–Walter theorem In mathematics, the Gorenstein–Walter theorem, proved by , states that if a finite group ''G'' has a dihedral Sylow 2-subgroup, and ''O''(''G'') is the maximal normal subgroup of odd order, then ''G''/''O''(''G'') is isomorphic to a 2-group, o ...
*
Peterson–Gorenstein–Zierler algorithm
Notes
External links
*
*
Obituary: Professor Daniel GorensteinDaniel Gorenstein, 1923-1992- A Biographical Memoir by Michael Aschbacher
20th-century American mathematicians
1923 births
1992 deaths
Group theorists
Harvard University alumni
Rutgers University faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
{{US-mathematician-stub