The doctoral thesis titled The inverse problem for periodic potentials, completed at New York University in 1977, established the academic trajectory of Eugene Trubowitz. Born in 1951, he developed a career focused on analysis and mathematical physics, eventually serving as a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich from 1983 until his retirement in 2016.
Academic Foundation
Trubowitz received his advanced training under the supervision of Henry McKean at New York University. His early research focused on inverse scattering theory, a field involving the determination of properties of an object based on observations of waves scattered by it. In 1979, he collaborated with Percy Deift to publish Inverse scattering on the line in Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics.
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During his long tenure at ETH Zurich, Trubowitz expanded his inquiries into integrable systems and their underlying connections to algebraic geometry. His investigations also covered the mathematical theory of Fermi liquids within statistical mechanics. His contributions were recognized internationally in 1994 when he served as an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Zürich, delivering a lecture on the rigorous analysis of superconducting systems via the renormalization group.
Published Contributions
His bibliography includes several comprehensive texts written in collaboration with other experts. Along with Jürgen Pöschel, he authored Inverse spectral theory in 1987. His later work includes Geometry of algebraic Fermi curves with D. Gieseker and Horst Knörrer, released by Academic Press in 1992. His engagement with infinite genus Riemann surfaces and fermionic functional integrals continued through the early 2000s in volumes published by the American Mathematical Society alongside Joel Feldman and Horst Knörrer.
Current Status
Since retiring from ETH Zurich in 2016, Trubowitz maintains a connection to the field as a Global Professor of Mathematics at New York University Abu Dhabi. As an American mathematician, his career reflects the broader evolution of 20th-century mathematical physics, specifically the intersection of abstract analysis with physical theory.
Fast facts
- Born: 1951
- Citizenship: United States
- Doctoral Advisor: Henry McKean
- Primary Academic Employer: ETH Zurich
- Current Position: Global Professor of Mathematics, NYU Abu Dhabi
Questions readers ask
What specific area of mathematics did Eugene Trubowitz specialize in?
He focused primarily on analysis, mathematical physics, inverse scattering theory, and integrable systems.
Where did Eugene Trubowitz spend the majority of his academic career?
He was a full professor of mathematics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich from 1983 until 2016.
Achievements
- Held posts at ETH Zurich

