Math man Atle Selberg dead at 90

August 22, 2007

Atle Selberg, a prolific mathematical researcher with multiple terms that bear his name, has died in Princeton, N.J., at the age of 90.

The mathematician died Aug. 6 after suffering a heart attack in his home, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Selberg's contributions to the world of mathematics have been immortalized by concepts named for their creator: the Selberg trace formula, the Selberg sieve, the Selberg integral, the Selberg class, the Rankin-Selberg L-function, the Selberg eigenvalue conjecture and the Selberg zeta function.

"His far-reaching contributions have left a profound imprint on the world of mathematics and we have lost not only a mathematical giant but a dear friend," Peter Goddard, director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University told the Times.

Selberg is survived by his second wife, Betty Compton; a daughter, Ingrid Maria Selberg of London; a son, Lars Atle Selberg of Middlefield, Conn.; stepdaughters Heidi Faith of Mountain View, Calif., and Cindy Faith of Roland Park, Md.; and four grandchildren.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International


   
Rate this story - 4.7 /5 (3 votes)


August 22, 2007 all stories

Comments: 0

4.7 /5 (3 votes)

  • hide
  • Related Stories

  • Math man Atle Selberg dead at 90
    created Aug 28, 2007 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0



  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

  • Computer graphic mathematical modelling question
    created 5 hours ago
  • Finding The Equations of Lines
    created 6 hours ago
  • Matrices related question
    created 15 hours ago
  • Assymmetrically saturated chirp.
    created 16 hours ago
  • More from Physics Forums - General Math

Other News

Experts are studying the first Mayan hieroglyphic script dealing with the life of a high priest

Mayan glyphs detail priest's life, blood sacrifices

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created 3 hours ago | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Experts are studying the first Mayan hieroglyphic script dealing with the life of a high priest, his blood sacrifices and acts of penance, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said.


Students' sharp eyes restore dinosaur's rightful name

Students' sharp eyes restore dinosaur's rightful name

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 28, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Three graduate students in paleontology blew dust off dinosaur toes found in 1924 to discover that something didn't quite add up. After examining a few more fossilized bones, they concluded ...


There may be a 'party' in your genes

Other Sciences / Other

created 18 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Genetics play a pivotal role in shaping how individual's identify with political parties , according to an article in a recent issue of Political Research Quarterly, the official journal of the Western Political Science Associ ...


Fossil shelved for a century reworks carnivore family tree

Fossil shelved for a century reworks carnivore family tree

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 4

More than a hundred years after its discovery, the limbs and vertebrae of a fossil have been pulled off the shelf at the American Museum of Natural History to revise the view of early carnivore lifestyles. ...


Nobel Physics laureates undeserving, colleagues say: report

Other Sciences / Other

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (9) | comments 4

Former colleagues of two American scientists who won the 2009 Nobel physics prize say the winners, Willard Boyle and George Smith, did not deserve the award, Canada's Globe and Mail reported Tuesday.