Dennis Barden is a mathematician at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
working in the fields of
geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
and
topology
Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...
. He is known for his classification of the simply connected compact
5-manifold
In mathematics, a 5-manifold is a 5-dimensional topological manifold, possibly with a piecewise linear or smooth structure.
Non-simply connected 5-manifolds are impossible to classify, as this is harder than solving the word problem for groups.. ...
s and, together with
Barry Mazur
Barry Charles Mazur (; born December 19, 1937) is an American mathematician and the Gerhard Gade University Professor at Harvard University. His contributions to mathematics include his contributions to Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem in ...
and
John R. Stallings, for having proved the
s-cobordism theorem. Barden received his
Ph.D. from Cambridge in 1964 under the supervision of
C. T. C. Wall
Charles Terence Clegg "Terry" Wall (born 14 December 1936) is a British mathematician, educated at Marlborough and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is an emeritus professor of the University of Liverpool, where he was first appointed professor in ...
.
Academic Positions
Barden is a Life Fellow of
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...
and emeritus fellow of
Pembroke College. In 1991, he became Director of Studies for mathematics at Pembroke College, succeeding
Raymond Lickorish. He held the position until Michaelmas 2003, and in his time saw a great increase in the number of applicants for mathematics, with consistently high performances in
Tripos
TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
exams.
He remains an active
supervisor
A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...
at Pembroke and Girton College.
Selected publications
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*
References
1936 births
Living people
21st-century British mathematicians
20th-century British mathematicians
British topologists
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
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