André Weil

André Weil (May 6, 1906 - August 6, 1998) was one of the great mathematicians of the 20th century. He is known for his foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry, He was a founding member, and de facto the early leader, of the influential Bourbaki group. The philosopher Simone Weil was his sister.

Related Topics:
May 6 - 1906 - August 6 - 1998 - Mathematician - 20th century - Number theory - Algebraic geometry - Bourbaki group - Philosopher - Simone Weil

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Born in Paris to Alsatian parents who fled the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany, he studied in Paris, Rome and Göttingen and received his doctorate in 1928. A conscientious objector and Jew, Weil fled France for Finland when World War II broke out. A famous anecdote was confirmed in his autobiography: after having been arrested under suspicion of espionage in Finland, he was saved from being shot only by the intervention of Rolf Nevanlinna.

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Paris - Alsace-Lorraine - Germany - Rome - Göttingen - Doctorate - 1928 - France - Finland - World War II - Autobiography - Espionage - Rolf Nevanlinna

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After the war, Weil went to the United States where he taught

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at the University of Chicago before settling at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University.

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University of Chicago - Institute for Advanced Study - Princeton University

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He made substantial contributions in many areas, the most important being profound connections between algebraic geometry and number theory; other significant results were on Pontryagin duality and differential geometry. Among his accomplishments were the so-called Weil conjectures (later proved by Bernard Dwork, Alexander Grothendieck and Pierre Deligne), the Riemann hypothesis for function fields, laying proper foundations for algebraic geometry, and discovery that the so-called Weil representation, previously introduced in quantum mechanics by Segal and Shale, gave a proper framework for understanding the classical theory of quadratic forms.

Related Topics:
Algebraic geometry - Number theory - Pontryagin duality - Differential geometry - Weil conjecture - Bernard Dwork - Alexander Grothendieck - Pierre Deligne - Riemann hypothesis - Function field - Weil representation - Quantum mechanics - Quadratic form

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André Weil should not be confused with Andrew Wiles, another famous mathematician who, like Weil, has done important work in elliptic curves; the similarity of their names is a coincidence. Pronunciation: "Weil" is vay, while "Weyl" is vile, and "Wiles" is just wiles.

Related Topics:
Andrew Wiles - Elliptic curve - Weyl

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