Lê Dũng Tráng received a Ph.D. from the University of Paris in 1971, completing his doctoral studies under the supervision of Claude Chevalley and Pierre Deligne. A long-term resident of France, he dedicated his career to advancing singularity theory in the complex domain, focusing on the study of Milnor fibrations and perverse sheaves.
Academic Career in France
Moving to France at the end of 1949, Tráng pursued his foundational education at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He later served as a professor at the University of Paris VII from 1975 to 1999, concurrently acting as a research director for the CNRS. During a portion of this period, from 1983 to 1995, he held a professorship at the École Polytechnique. His instructional influence extended to students such as Hélène Esnault and Claude Sabbah.
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Tráng collaborated extensively with international peers, including Heisuke Hironaka at Harvard University and both Terence Gaffney and David B. Massey at Northeastern University. Between 2002 and 2009, he directed the mathematics department at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. Beyond his research, he actively facilitated scientific exchanges between Vietnam and the United States, earning an honorary doctorate from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in 2004.
Mathematical Publications
Throughout his career, Tráng authored or co-authored numerous works addressing singularity theory. Notable papers include his 1972 study on algebraic knots published in Compositio Mathematica and his 1976 work with C. P. Ramanujam regarding the invariance of Milnor's number. His research output also featured collaborations with Bernard Teissier on local polar varieties, as well as joint efforts with J.P. Brasselet and J. Seade investigating Euler obstructions.
Fast facts
- Born: 1947, Ho Chi Minh City
- Died: 19 November 2025, Aressy
- Citizenship: France
- Education: Lycée Louis-le-Grand; University of Paris
- Fellow: Third World Academy of Sciences (since 1993)
- Primary Field: Singularity theory
Questions readers ask
What was the main focus of Lê Dũng Tráng's mathematical research?
He specialized in singularity theory within the complex domain, with particular interest in Milnor fibrations and perverse sheaves.
Did he hold any international academic leadership roles?
Yes, he headed the department of mathematics at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, from 2002 to 2009.
