Howard Levi

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Howard Levi (born November 9, 1916 in New York City , † September 11, 2002 ibid) was an American mathematician and mathematics educator.

Levi was born in the Bronx and attended DeWitt Clinton High School. He studied at Columbia University with a bachelor's degree in 1937 and received his doctorate in differential algebra under Joseph Ritt at Columbia University in 1941 ( On the structure of differential polynomials and on their theory of ideals ). He then worked as a scientist in the Manhattan Project . From 1943 to 1962 he was on the faculty of Columbia University. He was then a professor at the Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York (initially Hunter College in the Bronx, which in 1968 became the Lehman College of CUNY). He stayed there until his retirement.

He dealt with geometric algebra and algebraic aspects of analysis, which was also reflected in his approach to the didactics of analysis (his textbook Polynomials, Power Series and Calculus). He also wrote school textbooks on geometry (with an approach to Euclidean geometry from the standpoint of affine geometry) and algebra (Elements of Algebra). Finally he tried to find a proof of the four-color theorem without the use of computers by first formulating it in algebraic terms. He succeeded in doing this in discussions with Don Coppersmith , Melvin Fitting , Alan J. Hoffman and Paul Meyer, who completed his proof after his death. Other mathematicians ( Juri Wladimirowitsch Matijassewitsch , Noga Alon , M. Mnuk) also provided algebraically equivalent formulations of the four-color theorem.

He was interested in literature (especially Shakespeare) and also taught the Great Book Course at Columbia University on one occasion . He was also a good pianist and organist. From his friendship with the children's book author and cartoonist Crockett Johnson (creator of the comic strip Barnaby ), who was interested in matchstick pictures and puzzles, a mathematical essay by Levi arose.

Fonts

  • Elements of Algebra, Chelsea Publishing Company, 1953, 961
  • Elements of Geometry, Columbia University Press, 1956
  • Foundations of Geometry and Trigonometry, Prentice-Hall, 1960
  • Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics, 1957
  • with C. Robert Clements, Harry Sitomer a. a .: Modern Coordinate Geometry: A Wesleyan Experimental Curricular Study, School Mathematics Study Group, 1961
  • Polynomials, Power Series, and Calculus, Van Nostrand, 1967, 1968
  • Topics in Geometry, Boston: Prindle, Weber & Schmidt 1968, 1975

Some essays:

  • Why Arithmetic Works, The Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 56, 1963, pp. 2-7
  • An Algebraic Approach to Calculus, Trans. NY Acad. Sci., Vol. 28, 1966, pp. 375-377
  • Foundations of Geometric Algebra, Rendiconti di Matematica, Volume 2, 1969, pp. 1-32.
  • Geometric Algebra for the High School Program, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Volume 3, 1971, pp. 490-500

References and comments

  1. ↑ Life data according to Inside the AMS, Notices of the AMS, June / July 2003, No. 6, p. 705, pdf
  2. ^ CV based on Melvin Fitting, The Four Color Theorem , Lehman College, CUNY
  3. ↑ Howard Levi in the Mathematics Genealogy Project (English)Template: MathGenealogyProject / Maintenance / id used
  4. ↑ Published in Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, Volume 51, 1942, pp. 532-568
  5. ↑ Howard Levi, An algebraic reformulation of the Four Color Theorem, 2002, pdf , edited and supplemented posthumously by Don Coppersmith, Melvin Fitting, Paul Meyer
  6. ^ Melvin Fitting, The Four Color Theorem, Lehman College
personal data
SURNAME Levi, Howard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mathematician and maths educator
DATE OF BIRTH November 9, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH September 11, 2002
Place of death New York City