Sumner Byron Myers

Sumner Byron Myers (born February 19, 1910 in Boston , † October 8, 1955 ) was an American mathematician who dealt with differential geometry , topology and functional analysis .

Myers graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1929 and received his doctorate there from Marston Morse in 1932 ( Sufficient Conditions in the Problem of the Calculus of Variations in n-Space in Parametric Form under General End Conditions ). As a postdoctoral fellow he spent one year in Europe, one year instructor at Harvard and two years at the Institute for Advanced Study , before he was at the University of Michigan from 1936 , where he was temporarily head of the mathematics faculty. He died of a heart attack after a football game.

Myers dealt with the calculus of variations and topological problems of differential geometry ( differential geometry on a large scale ). Together with JHC Whitehead, he introduced the notion of the set of minimal points (minimal locus) to a point on a complete Riemannian manifold and treated the two-dimensional case. With Norman Steenrod he proved in 1939 that the group of isometries of a compact Riemannian manifold is a Lie group (see Myers-Steenrod theorem ). He is also known for the Bonnet-Myers Theorem . Later he dealt with the topology of function spaces .

An annual award for the best dissertation in math at the University of Michigan is named after him.

His PhD students include Leonard J. Savage and Meyer Jerison .

Web links

Obituary in the Michigan Mathematical Journal (English; PDF; 415 kB)

Individual evidence

↑ Points A on a geodesic from point P with maximum distance, so that the geodesic from P to A is still the curve with minimum distance to P on the manifold
^ Myers, Steenrod: The group of isometries of a Riemannian manifold. In: Annals of Mathematics. Volume 40, p. 400
^ Myers: Riemannian manifolds with positive mean curvature. In: Duke Mathematical Journal. Volume 8, 1941, pp. 401-404

personal data
SURNAME	Myers, Sumner Byron
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH	February 19, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH	Boston
DATE OF DEATH	October 8, 1955

[1] Points A on a geodesic from point P with maximum distance, so that the geodesic from P to A is still the curve with minimum distance to P on the manifold

[2] Myers, Steenrod: The group of isometries of a Riemannian manifold. In: Annals of Mathematics. Volume 40, p. 400

[3] Myers: Riemannian manifolds with positive mean curvature. In: Duke Mathematical Journal. Volume 8, 1941, pp. 401-404