Joseph J. Kohn
Encyclopedia
Joseph John Kohn is a Professor Emeritus of mathematics
at Princeton University
, where he does research on partial differential operators and function theory.
in 1939, and to the United States
in 1945, where he attended Brooklyn Technical High School
. He studied at MIT (S.B. 1953) and at Princeton University
, where he obtained his PhD
in 1956 under Donald Spencer ("A Non-Self-Adjoint Boundary Value Problem on Pseudo-Kähler Manifolds"). Later he was at the Institute for Advanced Study
during 1957/58 (and again 1961/62, 1976/7, 1988/89). In 1956/57, he was an Instructor in Princeton. In 1958, he was Assistant Professor, in 1962 Associate Professor and in 1964 Professor at Brandeis University
, where he also served as Chairman of the Mathematics Department (1963-1966). Since 1968, he is a Professor at Princeton University, where he served as Chairman in 1993-96. He was a visiting professor in Harvard (1996/7), Prague
, Florence
, Mexico City
(Centro de Estudios del IPN
), Stanford
, Berkeley
, Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa), Rome
, Buenos Aires
, and at IHES.
His work focuses, among other things, on the use of partial differential operators in the theory of functions of several complex variables and microlocal analysis.
Kohn was a Sloan Fellow in 1963 and a Guggenheim Fellow on 1976/77. Since 1966 he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and since 1988 a member of the National Academy of Sciences
. From 1976 to 1988, he was a member of the editorial board of the Annals of Mathematics
.
In 1966 he was an invited speaker at the International Mathematics Congress in Moscow ("Differential complexes"). He won the AMS
Steele Prize in 1979 for his paper Harmonic integrals on strongly convex domains. In 1990 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bologna
. In 2004, he was awarded the Bolzano Prize.
He has had at least 65 doctoral descendants.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where he does research on partial differential operators and function theory.
Life and work
Born to a family of a wealthy Czech architect Otto Kohn of Jewish origin. He emigrated with his family to EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in 1939, and to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1945, where he attended Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech or just Tech, and also administratively as High School 430, is a New York City public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science and is the largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering, and...
. He studied at MIT (S.B. 1953) and at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where he obtained his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1956 under Donald Spencer ("A Non-Self-Adjoint Boundary Value Problem on Pseudo-Kähler Manifolds"). Later he was at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
during 1957/58 (and again 1961/62, 1976/7, 1988/89). In 1956/57, he was an Instructor in Princeton. In 1958, he was Assistant Professor, in 1962 Associate Professor and in 1964 Professor at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, where he also served as Chairman of the Mathematics Department (1963-1966). Since 1968, he is a Professor at Princeton University, where he served as Chairman in 1993-96. He was a visiting professor in Harvard (1996/7), Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
(Centro de Estudios del IPN
National Polytechnic Institute
The National Polytechnic Institute colloquially known as the Polytechnic is one of the largest public universities in Mexico with 153.027 students at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels...
), Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa), Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, and at IHES.
His work focuses, among other things, on the use of partial differential operators in the theory of functions of several complex variables and microlocal analysis.
Kohn was a Sloan Fellow in 1963 and a Guggenheim Fellow on 1976/77. Since 1966 he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and since 1988 a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. From 1976 to 1988, he was a member of the editorial board of the Annals of Mathematics
Annals of Mathematics
The Annals of Mathematics is a bimonthly mathematical journal published by Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study. It ranks amongst the most prestigious mathematics journals in the world by criteria such as impact factor.-History:The journal began as The Analyst in 1874 and was...
.
In 1966 he was an invited speaker at the International Mathematics Congress in Moscow ("Differential complexes"). He won the AMS
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
Steele Prize in 1979 for his paper Harmonic integrals on strongly convex domains. In 1990 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
. In 2004, he was awarded the Bolzano Prize.
He has had at least 65 doctoral descendants.
Literature
- Bloom, Catlin, D´Angelo, Siu (Herausgeber) Modern methods in complex analysis. Papers from the conference honoring Robert Gunning and Joseph Kohn on the occasion of their 60th birthdays held at Princeton University 1992, Princeton University Press 1995