A Life of Mathematics 2001-2002 Profiles

Profile of the Visiting Mathematicians

Ivor Grattan-Guinness

Professor Ivor Grattan-Guinness is the Professor of History of Mathematics and Logic, Middlesex University Business School, University of Middlesex at Enfield, U.K. His fields of interest include Functional Analysis, History of Mathematics and Logic and Philosophy of Science. He did his PhD in History of Mathematics and his DSc in History and Philosophy of Science.

As a distinguished mathematician, he has supervised a number of PhD and MPhil theses and has been closely involved in a number of doctorates written at the Universities of Toronto, Harvard, Texas at Austin, and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. He is proficient in a number of languages and is also actively involved in the field of Psychical Research.

He has been a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton and is a member of the Academie Internationale dHistoire des Sciences since 1991. He has authored a number of books. He serves on the editorial boards of a number of book series and journals and is also a member of several important societies including the British Society for the Philosophy of Science, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, the History of Science Society, and the British Society for the History of Mathematics. As a popular lecturer, he has enthralled audiences all around the globe.

Prof. Grattan-Guinness will deliver a series of lectures from 14 December 2001 to 18 December 2001 under the series "A Life of Mathematics". He will speak on "What was and what should be the Calculus?" and "Research in History". He will be a panelist for a discussion on the history and future of mathematics. He will also be available for discussion with undergraduates.

Deborah Hughes Hallett

Deborah Hughes Hallett is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Arizona and Adjunct Professor at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard. With Andrew M. Gleason at Harvard, she organized the Calculus Consortium based at Harvard, which brought together faculty from a wide variety of schools to work on undergraduate curricular issues. She is actively involved in discussions about the teaching of undergraduate mathematics at the national and international level and is an author of several college level mathematics texts.

She is a member of the National Academy of Science's Committee on Advanced Study in American High Schools and of the MAA Committee on Mutual Concerns. In 1998 she was co-chair of the International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics in Samos, Greece, attended by faculty from 44 countries. She has established mathematics programs for masters students of international development at the Kennedy School of Government, as well as courses in precalculus, quantitative reasoning (with Andy Gleason), and courses for economics majors.

She was awarded the Louise Hay Prize and elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for contributions to mathematics education. She won the three teaching prizes given at Harvard.

Prof. Hughes Hallett will deliver a lecture on 14 December 2001 at 12:00 hours on "Teaching of Calculus." Prof. Hughes-Hallett will also be available for discussion at the Centre from 14:00 hours on that day

Volker Peckhaus

Professor Volker Peckhaus is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Erlangen, and at Paderborn University, Germany. His primary interest is in the history of Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics.

Beginning with a paper in the social history of formal logic, Professor Peckhaus went on to research in the philosophy and the historiography of scientific disciplines, the work for which he is best known.. Ever since 1993, Professor Peckhaus has been investigating the philosophical nuances of religion and science. Since 1996 he has played a pivotal role in the project The development of modern logic. Since 1999, he has been the managing editor of the project The complete works of Ernst Zermelo.

Professor Peckhaus has been actively involved in the publication of journals. In the course of the last decade, he has been a member of the editorial boards of Modern Logic, Historia Mathematica, and a member of the Comité Scientific of the journal Philosophia Scientiae Traveaux dhistoire et de philosophie des sciences

Prof. Peckhaus will deliver a series of lectures from 15 December 2001 to 18 December 2001 under the series "A Life of Mathematics" on philosophy and science/mathematics. The abstracts of his talks have also been put up.

Jean-Paul Pier

Professor Jean-Paul Pier is Professor Emeritus at Centre Universitaire de Luxembourg, Luxembourg. He is one of the most influential analysts of the twentieth century and has made significant contributions to Harmonic Analysis. He has been very active in the fields of mathematical education and its development.

He has been involved in researching the evolution and development of mathematics during the twentieth century and has edited the two collective volumes entitled "Development of Mathematics". Amongst the books he has written is "Mathematical Analysis during the XXth Century".

As the President of the Luxembourg Mathematical Society, he was instrumental in putting forward the motion regarding the proclamation of the year 2000 as the "World Mathematical Year" by UNESCO, via the Luxembourg government.

Prof. Pier will deliver a series of lectures between the 14 and the 18 of December 2001, which will focus on Mathematical Analysis and History of Mathematics. He will be available for discussion at the Centre. He will also participate in a Seminar where he will reflect on his many years of work in the subject.