Andrew Gleason
| Andrew M. Gleason | |
|---|---|
Berlin, 1959
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| Born |
November 4, 1921 Fresno, California |
| Died | October 17, 2008 (aged 86) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Fields | Mathematics, cryptography |
| Institutions | Harvard University |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Doctoral advisor | None |
| Other academic advisors | George Mackey |
| Doctoral students | |
| Known for |
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| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Jean Berko Gleason (m. 1959) |
Andrew Mattei Gleason (November 4, 1921 – October 17, 2008) was an American mathematician who as a young World War II naval officer broke German and Japanese military codes, then over the succeeding sixty years made fundamental contributions to widely varied areas of mathematics, including the solution of Hilbert's fifth problem, and was a leader in reform and innovation in mathematics teaching at all levels.Gleason's theorem in quantum logic and the Greenwood–Gleason graph, an important example in Ramsey theory, are named for him.
Gleason's entire academic career was at Harvard University, from which he retired in 1992. His numerous academic and scholarly leadership posts included chairmanship of the Harvard Mathematics Department and Harvard Society of Fellows, and presidency of the American Mathematical Society. He continued to advise the United States government on cryptographic security, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on mathematics education for children, almost until the end of his life.
Gleason won the Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 1952 and the Gung–Hu Distinguished Service Award of the American Mathematical Society in 1996. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Philosophical Society, and held the Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard.
He was fond of saying that mathematical proofs "really aren't there to convince you that something is true—they're there to show you why it is true." The Notices of the American Mathematical Society called him "one of the quiet giants of twentieth-century mathematics, the consummate professor dedicated to scholarship, teaching, and service in equal measure."
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