Contents
Michael Atiyah
Connecting geometry and equations through the Atiyah–Singer index theorem.
Topological K-theory · Atiyah–Singer index theorem
- Born
- 22 April 1929
- Birthplace
- London, United Kingdom
- Died
- 11 January 2019
More people
Michael Atiyah
British-Lebanese mathematician whose collaborations joined topology, geometry and theoretical physics. He helped create topological K-theory and shared the 2004 Abel Prize with Isadore Singer.
Early life
Across countries
Born to a Lebanese father and Scottish mother, he attended schools in Sudan, Egypt and England.
Cambridge training
Studied at Trinity College and completed a doctorate under W. V. D. Hodge in 1955.
Career
- 1955–1961
Early research
Worked at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study and Cambridge.
- 1961–1990
Oxford and Princeton
Held major research positions and developed collaborations spanning mathematics and physics.
- 1990–1997
Scientific leadership
Led the Royal Society and Trinity College, and became the Isaac Newton Institute’s first director.
- 1997–2019
Edinburgh
Continued mathematical work as an honorary professor.
Ideas & books
Topological K-theory
Developed with Friedrich Hirzebruch a way to study spaces through structures attached to them.
Atiyah–Singer index theorem
Linked a quantity derived from differential equations to the geometry of a space.
Introduction to Commutative Algebra
Co-authored an influential textbook with Ian Macdonald.
Beyond work
Science and peace
Presided over the Pugwash Conferences, which bring scientists into discussions of global security.
Family
Married mathematician Lily Brown; they had three sons.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institutional biography and research ↗Photo: Gert-Martin Greuel. CC BY-SA 2.0 de · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
