Benoît Mandelbrot

Benoît B. Mandelbrot (born November 20, 1924) is a Polish-born French mathematician and leading proponent of fractal geometry. He is Sterling Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Emeritus at Yale University and IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

Early years

Born in Warsaw, Mandelbrot lived in France from the age of 12 to the end of his college studies. He was born into a family with a strong academic tradition - his mother was a medical doctor and his uncle, Szolem Mandelbrojt, was a famous Parisian mathematician. His father, however, made his living trading clothing. His family left Poland for Paris in 1936. There, Benoît was introduced to mathematics by his two uncles.

Related Topics:
Warsaw - France - Szolem Mandelbrojt - 1936

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Mandelbrot attended the Lycée Rolin in Paris until the start of World War II, when his family moved to Tulle. In 1944 he returned to Paris to attend the École Polytechnique, where he studied under Gaston Julia and Paul Lévy. He graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1947, and spent two years at the California Institute of Technology where he studied aeronautics. Back in France, he studied for a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences at the University of Paris, graduating in 1952.

Related Topics:
World War II - Tulle - 1944 - École Polytechnique - Gaston Julia - Paul Lévy - 1947 - California Institute of Technology - University of Paris - 1952

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From 1949 to 1957 Mandelbrot was a staff member at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. During this time he spent a year at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton where he was sponsored by John von Neumann. In 1955 he married Aliette Kagan and moved to Geneva.

Related Topics:
1949 - 1957 - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Institute for Advanced Study - Princeton - John von Neumann - 1955 - Geneva

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In 1958 the couple moved to the United States where Mandelbrot joined the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. He remained at IBM for the rest of his working life, becoming an IBM Fellow, and later Fellow Emeritus.

Related Topics:
1958 - IBM - Thomas J. Watson Research Center - Yorktown Heights - New York - IBM Fellow - Emeritus

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