Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn worked in mathematics at a period when the field's own foundations were under discussion.
The record lists Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn as Dutch mathematician (1918-2012).
Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn was born at The Hague in 1918. His recorded nationality is Netherlands. He studied at Leiden University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Twentieth-century mathematics became abstract and highly specialised, and its methods reached into physics, economics and computing.
His academic posts were held at Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and University of Amsterdam.
The recorded fields of work are combinatorics, graph theory and theoretical computer science.
Among his principal contributions are De Bruijn–Erdős theorem, De Bruijn torus and De Bruijn graph. A theorem is permanent in a way no experiment can be, which raises the standard for entry.
The honours record reads: Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1981).
That the work was done from Netherlands matters: mathematical training, institutions and the language of publication have never been evenly distributed.
Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn died in 2012, aged 94. The proofs remain, and a proof does not decay - which is the particular permanence mathematics offers.
Achievements
- Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion — 1981
- Notable work: De Bruijn–Erdős theorem
- Notable work: De Bruijn torus
- Notable work: De Bruijn graph
- Notable work: De Bruijn sequence
- Held posts at Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and University of Amsterdam
- Fields: combinatorics, graph theory and theoretical computer science
