Valentin Alexandre Poénaru (born 1932 in Bucharest) is a RomanianFrench mathematician. He was a Professor of Mathematics at University of Paris-Sud, specializing in low-dimensional topology.

Valentin Poénaru
Valentin Poénaru at IHÉS in 2007
Born1932 (age 91–92)
NationalityRomanian
Alma materUniversity of Paris
University of Bucharest
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsUniversité de Paris-Sud
ThesisSur les variétés tridimensionnelles ayant le type d'homotopie de la sphère S3 (1963)
Doctoral advisorCharles Ehresmann
Doctoral studentsJean Lannes

Life and career

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Born in Bucharest,[1] Romania, he did his undergraduate studies at the University of Bucharest. In 1962, he was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Stockholm, Sweden. While at the congress, Poénaru defected, subsequently leaving for France. He arrived in mid-September 1962 at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in Bures-sur-Yvette; the IHÉS decided to support him, and he has remained associated with the institute ever since then.[2]

Poénaru defended his Thèse d'État at the University of Paris on March 23, 1963. His dissertation topic was Sur les variétés tridimensionnelles ayant le type d'homotopie de la sphère S3, and was written under the supervision of Charles Ehresmann.[3] After that, he went to the United States, spending four years at Harvard University and Princeton University. In 1967, he returned to France.

Poénaru has worked for several decades on a proof of the Poincaré conjecture, making a number of related breakthroughs. His first attempt at proving the conjecture dates from 1957. He has described his general approach over the years in different papers and conferences. On December 19, 2006, he posted a preprint to the arXiv, claiming to have finally completed the details of his approach and proven the conjecture.

His doctoral students include Jean Lannes.

Works

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Iconography

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His friend the Peruvian painter Herman Braun-Vega made of him a family portrait with his wife the painter Rigmor Poenaru, where figures and mathematical symbols in the form of graffiti evoke his research works.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ George Szpiro, Poincaré's Prize: The Hundred-Year Quest to Solve One of Math's Greatest Puzzles (Dutton, 2007)
  2. ^ Poénaru, Valentin (2008), "Memories of Shourik" (PDF), Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 55 (8): 964–965, MR 2441529
  3. ^ Valentin Poénaru at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  4. ^ The Poenaru family, acrylic on wood, 1981-1982, by Herman Braun-Vega
  • David Gabai, Valentin Poenaru's program for the Poincaré conjecture. Geometry, topology, & physics, 139–166, Conf. Proc. Lecture Notes Geom. Topology, IV, Int. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1995.
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