Beno Eckmann
{{Short description|Swiss mathematician (1917–2008)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Beno Eckmann
| image = Beno Eckmann.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Beno Eckmann (1988)
| birth_date = {{birth date|1917|3|31|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bern, Switzerland
| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|11|25|1917|3|31|df=y}}
| death_place = Zürich, Switzerland
| fields = Mathematics
| workplaces = ETH Zurich
| alma_mater = ETH Zurich
| doctoral_advisor = Heinz Hopf
| doctoral_students = Alfred Aeppli
Erwin Bolthausen
Alfred Frölicher
Hans Grauert
Peter J. Huber
Michel Kervaire
Ernst Specker
Urs Stammbach
| known_for = Calabi–Eckmann manifolds
Eckmann–Hilton duality
Eckmann–Hilton argument
Eckmann–Shapiro lemma
Injective hull
| awards = Albert Einstein Medal (2008)
}}
Beno Eckmann (31 March 1917 – 25 November 2008) was a Swiss mathematician who made contributions to algebraic topology, homological algebra, group theory, and differential geometry.
Life
File:Eckmann Hilton Serre Haefliger.jpg, Jean-Pierre Serre, and André Haefliger in Zürich in 2007]]
Born to a Jewish family in Bern, Eckmann received his master's degree from Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH) in 1939. Later, he studied there under Heinz Hopf, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1941. His dissertation, on homotopy theory, was jointly supervised by Heinz Hopf and Ferdinand Gonseth.{{MathGenealogy |id=18355 }}
In 1942 he obtained a lecturer position at the University of Lausanne. He became an extraordinary professor there before, in 1948, taking a full professorship at ETH Zurich, where he remained until his 1984 retirement. He was also President of the Swiss Mathematical Society for 1961–1962, and the founding head of the Mathematics Research Institute at ETH Zurich from 1964 until his retirement.{{MacTutor|id=Echmann}}
Recognition
A colloquium in honor of Eckmann's 60th birthday was held in Zurich in 1977. Eckmann was elected to the Academia Europaea in 1993.{{cite web|url=https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Eckmann_Beno|title=Beno Eckmann|work=Members|publisher=Academia Europaea|access-date=2024-04-25}} He was the 2008 recipient of the Albert Einstein Medal.[http://www.einstein-bern.ch/index.php?lang=de&show=laudatio&subs=eckmann 2008 Albert Einstein Medal Laureate.](in German). Albert Einstein Society. Accessed December 2, 2008.
He was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Fribourg in 1964, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 1967, and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1983.
Legacy
Calabi–Eckmann manifolds, Eckmann–Hilton duality, the Eckmann–Hilton argument, and the Eckmann–Shapiro lemma are named after Eckmann.
Family
Eckmann's son is mathematical physicist Jean-Pierre Eckmann.[http://www.geni.com/people/Jean-Pierre-Eckmann/6000000005004900978 Profile for Jean-Pierre Eckmann on geni.com], retrieved 2011-04-30; [http://owpdb.mfo.de/detail?photo_id=11922 Photo of Jean-Pierre Eckmann as a child] with his parents, in the mathematical photo collection of the Mathematical Research Institute of Oberwolfach, retrieved 2011-04-30.
References
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External links
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Category:20th-century Swiss mathematicians
Category:21st-century Swiss mathematicians
Category:Academic staff of the University of Lausanne
Category:Academic staff of ETH Zurich