Jeffrey Howard Dinitz (born 1952) is 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 ...

who taught

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many ...

at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

. He is best known for proposing the Dinitz conjecture, which became a major theorem.

Early life and education

Dinitz was born in 1952 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

XFL scheduling

Dinitz is also well known for scheduling the first season of the now-defunct XFL football league. He and a colleague from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, Dalibor Froncek, offered the then-brand-new XFL league their expertise to draft complicated schedules. The XFL administration quickly agreed, which "surprised" Dinitz greatly. After some time on the computer, Dinitz and Froncek sent the XFL a draft schedule, and the new league gratefully accepted. Although the XFL folded after only one season, Dinitz was happy that "(he and Froncek) got to go to the championship game in Los Angeles"..

Personal life

Dinitz is married to Susan Dinitz and has three children.

Bibliography

* ''Handbook of Combinatorial Designs, Second Edition'' by Charles J. Colbourn and Jeffrey H. Dinitz, 2006 * ''CRC Handbook of Combinatorial Designs'' by Charles J. Colbourn and Jeffrey H. Dinitz, 1996 * ''Contemporary Design Theory: A Collection of Surveys'' by Jeffrey H. Dinitz and Douglas R. Stinson, 1992

References

External links

Home Page at University of Vermont

* 1952 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Vermont faculty Carnegie Mellon University alumni {{US-academic-scientist-stub