At the turn of the twentieth century, mathematical scholarship in
the United States underwent a stunning transformation. In 1890, no
American professor was producing mathematical research worthy of
international attention. Graduate students were then advised to
pursue their studies abroad. By the start of World War I, the
standing of American mathematics had radically changed. George
David Birkhoff, Leonard Dickson, and others were turning out
cutting edge investigations that attracted notice in the
intellectual centers of Europe. Harvard, Chicago, and Princeton
maintained graduate programs comparable to those overseas. This
book explores the people, timing, and factors behind this rapid
advance. Through the mid-nineteenth century, most American colleges
followed a classical curriculum that, in mathematics, rarely
reached beyond calculus. With no doctoral programs of any sort in
the United States until 1860, mathematical scholarship lagged far
behind that in Europe. After the Civil War, visionary presidents at
Harvard and Johns Hopkins broadened and deepened the opportunities
for study. The breakthrough for mathematics began in 1890 with the
hiring, in consecutive years, of William F. Osgood and Maxime
Bocher at Harvard and E. H. Moore at Chicago. Each of these young
men had studied in Germany where they acquired vital mathematical
knowledge and taste. Over the next few years, Osgood, Bocher, and
Moore established their own research programs and introduced new
graduate courses. Working with other like-minded individuals
through the nascent American Mathematical Society, the
infrastructure of meetings and journals were created. In the early
twentieth century, Princeton dramatically upgraded its faculty to
give the United States the stability of a third mathematics center.
The publication by Birkhoff, in 1913, of the solution to a famous
conjecture served notice that American mathematics had earned
consideration with the European powers of Germany, France, Italy,
England, and Russia.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
