A 1970 publication demonstrated that a specific class of sparse graphs, subsequently identified as Laman graphs, represents the precise set of minimally generically rigid structures within a two-dimensional plane. Gerard Laman, a Dutch mathematician who lived from 1924 to 2009, formulated this result, which remains his most cited contribution to the field of graph theory.
Formative Years and Education
Laman grew up in Leiden and attended the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden, completing his studies there in 1942. His undergraduate tenure at Leiden University faced significant interruptions due to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, during which time he went into hiding to avoid enforced labor. He eventually finished a degree in mathematics with a minor in mechanics in 1952. Starting in 1949, he served as a scientific assistant to J. Haantjes. In 1953, he received a stipend from the Dutch-Belgian Cultural Accord, facilitating private instruction in the combinatorial topology of fiber spaces in Brussels under G. Hirsch.
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Before entering higher education, Laman taught at the Gemeentelijke Hogere Burgerschool HBS in Delft from 1954 until 1957. He earned his PhD from Leiden University in 1959. Although J. Haantjes was his initial supervisor, W. T. van Est oversaw the completion of his thesis, titled On automorphisms of transformationgroups of polynomial algebras. Between 1957 and 1967, he held a lecturer position at the Technische Hogeschool of Eindhoven. He then moved to the Mathematical Institute of the University of Amsterdam, where he taught discrete mathematics and mathematics for econometrics students until his retirement in 1989.
Contributions to Rigidity Theory
Laman functioned primarily as a teacher who valued brevity and clarity. His 1970 paper, regarding the rigidity of plane skeletal structures, established the characteristics of Laman graphs. Although this result mirrored work performed by Hilda Geiringer in 1927, known as the Geiringer–Laman theorem, Laman's contribution gained traction only after being highlighted by Branko Grünbaum and Geoffrey Colin Shephard in their text, Lectures on lost mathematics. In his later years, Laman investigated extending these concepts into three dimensions, using the double banana graph as a specific counterexample.
Fast facts
- Born: 1924, Leiden
- Died: 2009, Amsterdam
- Citizenship: Kingdom of the Netherlands
- PhD: 1959, Leiden University
- Academic focus: Discrete mathematics
- Employment: University of Amsterdam
- Employment: Eindhoven University of Technology
Questions readers ask
What is a Laman graph?
It is a specific family of sparse graphs that are minimally generically rigid in the plane.
Where did Gerard Laman teach?
He taught at the Gemeentelijke Hogere Burgerschool HBS, the Technische Hogeschool of Eindhoven, and the University of Amsterdam.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Amsterdam and Eindhoven University of Technology
- Fields: mathematics
