Graeme Segal
Encyclopedia
Graeme Bryce Segal is a British
mathematician
, and professor at the University of Oxford
.
Segal was educated at the University of Sydney, where he received his BSc
degree in 1961. He went on to receive his D.Phil. in 1967 from St Catherine's College, Oxford
; his thesis, written under the supervision of Michael Atiyah
, was titled Equivariant K-theory.
His thesis was in the area of equivariant K-theory
and the Atiyah–Segal completion theorem in that subject was a major motivation for the Segal conjecture
, which he formulated. He has made many other contributions to homotopy theory in the past four decades, including an approach to infinite loop spaces. He was also a pioneer of elliptic cohomology
, which is related to his interest in topological quantum field theory
.
Segal was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1982 and an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
.
He was awarded the Sylvester Medal
by the Royal Society in 2010.
He was Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry
from 1990 to 1999.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, and professor at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
Segal was educated at the University of Sydney, where he received his BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
degree in 1961. He went on to receive his D.Phil. in 1967 from St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
; his thesis, written under the supervision of Michael Atiyah
Michael Atiyah
Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, OM, FRS, FRSE is a British mathematician working in geometry.Atiyah grew up in Sudan and Egypt but spent most of his academic life in the United Kingdom at Oxford and Cambridge, and in the United States at the Institute for Advanced Study...
, was titled Equivariant K-theory.
His thesis was in the area of equivariant K-theory
K-theory
In mathematics, K-theory originated as the study of a ring generated by vector bundles over a topological space or scheme. In algebraic topology, it is an extraordinary cohomology theory known as topological K-theory. In algebra and algebraic geometry, it is referred to as algebraic K-theory. It...
and the Atiyah–Segal completion theorem in that subject was a major motivation for the Segal conjecture
Segal conjecture
Segal's Burnside ring conjecture, or, more briefly, the Segal conjecture, is a theorem in homotopy theory, a branch of mathematics. The theorem relates the Burnside ring of a finite group G to the stable cohomotopy of the classifying space BG. The conjecture was made by Graeme Segal and proved by...
, which he formulated. He has made many other contributions to homotopy theory in the past four decades, including an approach to infinite loop spaces. He was also a pioneer of elliptic cohomology
Elliptic cohomology
In mathematics, elliptic cohomology is a cohomology theory in the sense of algebraic topology. It is related to elliptic curves and modular forms.-History and motivation:Historically, elliptic cohomology arose from the study of elliptic genera...
, which is related to his interest in topological quantum field theory
Topological quantum field theory
A topological quantum field theory is a quantum field theory which computes topological invariants....
.
Segal was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1982 and an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
.
He was awarded the Sylvester Medal
Sylvester Medal
The Sylvester Medal is a bronze medal awarded by the Royal Society for the encouragement of mathematical research, and accompanied by a £1,000 prize...
by the Royal Society in 2010.
He was Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry
Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry
The Lowndean chair of Astronomy and Geometry is one of the two major Professorships in Astronomy at Cambridge University, alongside the Plumian Professorship...
from 1990 to 1999.
External links
- Dr Graeme Segal FRS, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford
- Topology, Geometry and Quantum Field Theory Proceedings of the 2002 Oxford Symposium in Honour of the 60th Birthday of Graeme Segal.