Bernard Morin

Bernard Morin is a French mathematician, especially a topologist, born in 1931, who is now retired. He has been blind since age 6, but his blindness did not prevent him from having a successful career in mathematics.

Related Topics:
Bernard Morin - Topologist - 1931 - Blindness - Career - Mathematics

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Morin was a member of the group that first exhibited an eversion of the sphere, i.e. a homotopy (topological metamorphosis) which starts with a sphere and ends with the same sphere but turned inside-out. (See Smale paradox.) He also discovered the Morin surface, which is a half-way model for the sphere eversion, and used it to prove a lower bound on the number of steps needed to turn a sphere inside out.

Related Topics:
Homotopy - Metamorphosis - Smale paradox - Morin surface - Half-way model

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He discovered the first parametrization of Boy's surface (earlier used as a half-way model) in 1978. His graduate student, François Apéry, later discovered another parametrization of Boy's surface.

Related Topics:
Parametrization - Boy's surface - 1978 - Graduate student

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Morin worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Most of his career, though, he spent at the University of Strasbourg.

Related Topics:
Institute for Advanced Study - Princeton - University of Strasbourg

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::::Morin's surface.

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