Walter Helbig Gottschalk (November 3, 1918 – February 15, 2004) was an American mathematician, one of the founders of

topological dynamics In mathematics, topological dynamics is a branch of the theory of dynamical systems in which qualitative, asymptotic properties of dynamical systems are studied from the viewpoint of general topology. Scope The central object of study in topolog ...

Biography

Gottschalk was born in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

, on November 3, 1918, and moved to

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...

as a child.About the author
Gottschalk's Gestalts, retrieved 2012-11-21.
Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association Hall of Fame, retrieved 2012-11-21. His father, Carl Gottschalk, was a German immigrant who worked as a machinist and later owned several small businesses in Salem; his younger brother,

Carl W. Gottschalk Carl William Gottschalk (April 28, 1922 – October 15, 1997) was the Kenan Professor and Distinguished Research Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gottschalk made important discoveries about the function ...

, became a notable medical researcher. Gottschalk did both his undergraduate studies and graduate studies at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, finishing with a Ph.D. in 1944 under the supervision of Gustav A. Hedlund. After graduating, he joined the faculty of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and was chair of the Pennsylvania mathematics department from 1954 to 1958. In the academic year 1947/1948 he was a visiting scholar at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

. At Pennsylvania, his doctoral students included Philip Rabinowitz, who became known for his work in

numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic computation, symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of ...

, and Robert Ellis, who became known for his work on topological dynamics. Gottschalk moved to

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

in 1963; at Wesleyan, he also served two terms as chair before retiring in 1982. He died on February 15, 2004, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where he had lived since his retirement.

Contributions

Gottschalk and his advisor Gustav Hedlund wrote the 1955 monograph ''Topological Dynamics''.. Other research contributions of Gottschalk include the first study of surjunctive groups and a short proof of the De Bruijn–Erdős theorem on coloring infinite graphs. As well as being a research mathematician, Gottschalk also put on two exhibits of mathematical sculptures in the 1960s.

Awards and honors

Gottschalk was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

Selected publications

*. *. *.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottschalk, Walter Helbig 1918 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians University of Virginia alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Wesleyan University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American people of German descent