Gerard Laman
Encyclopedia
Gerard Laman was a Dutch
mathematician who worked on graph theory
.
He completed high school studies at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
in 1942. His study of Mathematics at Leiden University
was delayed by a period in hiding to evade enforced labor during the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany in the second world war. He completed Mathematics with a minor in mechanics in 1952. From 1949 onwards, he was a scientific assistant to Prof.dr. J. Haantjes.
With a stipend of the Dutch-Belgian Cultural Accord, he was privately taught in combinatorial topology of fibre spaces, in Brussels
, Belgium by Prof.dr. G. Hirsch of the Agricultural University of Ghent in 1953.
From 1954 to 1957 he worked as a high school teacher of mathematics at the Delft high school 'Gemeentelijke Hogere Burgerschool HBS'.
In 1959 he completed his PhD thesis (Laman 1959)
at Leiden University. Prof. dr. W.T. van Est acted as promotor, since the original promotor, Prof. Haantjes had died.
From 1957 to 1967 he worked as a lecturer at the 'Technische Hogeschool' of Eindhoven (now Eindhoven University of Technology
).
From 1967 to his retirement in 1989, he worked as a lecturer at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Amsterdam, teaching discrete mathematics, and also mathematics for students in Econometrics
. Gerard Laman regards himself mostly as a teacher of mathematics, where structuredness of thinking, as well as brevity in speech and writing are his forte.
His main scientific contribution is the 'Laman graph
' (Laman 1970). In graph theory, the Laman graphs are a family of sparse graphs describing the minimally rigid systems of rods and joints in the plane, see for example the paper
Owen & Power 2007.
As Gerard Laman did not mind pointing out himself, his original publication in 1970 went largely unnoticed first. Only when Prof. dr. Branko Grünbaum
, Seattle, Washington
, USA, together with Dr. G.C. Shephard, wrote about Laman's paper in their Lectures on lost mathematics, 1978, did this work receive more attention in the mathematical community.
Towards the end of his life, Gerard Laman worked on the challenge to lift the original 'Laman graph' from the two dimensions of its original description to three dimensions, inspired by a simple counter example, the 'double banana graph' (Graver, Servatius & Servatius 1993, p. 12).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
mathematician who worked on graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
.
He completed high school studies at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden is a gymnasium in the Netherlands. Located in Leiden, it is one of the oldest schools in the Netherlands. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages...
in 1942. His study of Mathematics at Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
was delayed by a period in hiding to evade enforced labor during the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany in the second world war. He completed Mathematics with a minor in mechanics in 1952. From 1949 onwards, he was a scientific assistant to Prof.dr. J. Haantjes.
With a stipend of the Dutch-Belgian Cultural Accord, he was privately taught in combinatorial topology of fibre spaces, in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium by Prof.dr. G. Hirsch of the Agricultural University of Ghent in 1953.
From 1954 to 1957 he worked as a high school teacher of mathematics at the Delft high school 'Gemeentelijke Hogere Burgerschool HBS'.
In 1959 he completed his PhD thesis (Laman 1959)
at Leiden University. Prof. dr. W.T. van Est acted as promotor, since the original promotor, Prof. Haantjes had died.
From 1957 to 1967 he worked as a lecturer at the 'Technische Hogeschool' of Eindhoven (now Eindhoven University of Technology
Eindhoven University of Technology
The ' is a university of technology located in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The motto of the university is: Mens agitat molem . The university was the second of its kind in the Netherlands, only Delft University of Technology existed previously. Until mid-1980 it was known as the...
).
From 1967 to his retirement in 1989, he worked as a lecturer at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Amsterdam, teaching discrete mathematics, and also mathematics for students in Econometrics
Econometrics
Econometrics has been defined as "the application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data" and described as the branch of economics "that aims to give empirical content to economic relations." More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on...
. Gerard Laman regards himself mostly as a teacher of mathematics, where structuredness of thinking, as well as brevity in speech and writing are his forte.
His main scientific contribution is the 'Laman graph
Laman graph
In graph theory, the Laman graphs are a family of sparse graphs describing the minimally rigid systems of rods and joints in the plane. Formally, a Laman graph is a graph on n vertices such that, for all k, every k-vertex subgraph has at most 2k −3 edges, and such that the whole graph...
' (Laman 1970). In graph theory, the Laman graphs are a family of sparse graphs describing the minimally rigid systems of rods and joints in the plane, see for example the paper
Owen & Power 2007.
As Gerard Laman did not mind pointing out himself, his original publication in 1970 went largely unnoticed first. Only when Prof. dr. Branko Grünbaum
Branko Grünbaum
Branko Grünbaum is a Croatian-born mathematician and a professor emeritus at the University of Washington in Seattle. He received his Ph.D. in 1957 from Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel....
, Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, USA, together with Dr. G.C. Shephard, wrote about Laman's paper in their Lectures on lost mathematics, 1978, did this work receive more attention in the mathematical community.
Towards the end of his life, Gerard Laman worked on the challenge to lift the original 'Laman graph' from the two dimensions of its original description to three dimensions, inspired by a simple counter example, the 'double banana graph' (Graver, Servatius & Servatius 1993, p. 12).