Alexander Grothendieck is remembered in mathematics for work the next generation could build on.
The record lists Alexander Grothendieck as French mathematician (1928–2014).
Alexander Grothendieck was born at Berlin in 1928. His recorded nationality is German Reich. He studied at University of Montpellier and École Normale Supérieure.
Twentieth-century mathematics became abstract and highly specialised, and its methods reached into physics, economics and computing.
His academic posts were held at National Center for Scientific Research, Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques and Collège de France.
The recorded fields of work are algebraic geometry, functional analysis and category theory.
Among his principal contributions are Reaping and sowing, Grothendieck–Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem and Birkhoff–Grothendieck theorem. Mathematics accumulates without discarding: a proof from two thousand years ago is still a proof.
The honours record reads: Fields medal (1966), Émile Picard Medal (1977) and Crafoord Prize in Mathematics (1988).
That the work was done from German Reich matters: mathematical training, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Alexander Grothendieck died in 2014, aged 86. The proofs remain, and a proof does not decay - which is the particular permanence mathematics offers.
Achievements
- Fields medal — 1966
- Émile Picard Medal — 1977
- Crafoord Prize in Mathematics — 1988
- Notable work: Reaping and sowing
- Notable work: Grothendieck–Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem
- Notable work: Birkhoff–Grothendieck theorem
- Notable work: Ax–Grothendieck theorem
- Held posts at National Center for Scientific Research, Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques and Collège de France
- Fields: algebraic geometry, functional analysis and category theory
