Elon Lages Lima facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elon Lages Lima
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| Born | July 9, 1929 |
| Died | May 7, 2017 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago University of Brazil |
| Known for | Spectrum (topology) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada |
| Thesis | Duality and Postnikov Invariants (1958) |
| Doctoral advisor | Edwin Spanier |
| Influenced | Fernando Codá Marques Carlos Gustavo Moreira |
Elon Lages Lima (born July 9, 1929 – died May 7, 2017) was a very important Brazilian mathematician. He studied different areas of mathematics, like differential topology, algebraic topology, and differential geometry. He played a big role in helping mathematics grow and become stronger in Brazil.
Elon Lages Lima was a professor at the Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada (IMPA). This is a famous math institute in Brazil. He was even the director of IMPA three times! He won the Prêmio Jabuti twice. This is a big award for books in Brazil. He won it for his math textbooks, Espaços Métricos and Álgebra Linear. He also received the Anísio Teixeira Prize from the Ministry of Education.
Elon's Life and Education
Elon Lages Lima started his career as a high school teacher. This was in Fortaleza, Ceará, a city in Brazil. He earned his first degree in mathematics in 1953. He studied at the Universidade do Brasil, which is now called UFRJ.
Later, he went to the University of Chicago in the United States. There, he earned his doctorate degree in 1958. His advisor, who guided his studies, was Edwin Henry Spanier.
Elon Lages Lima was a Guggenheim Fellow. This is a special award given to people who show great ability in their field. He was also a member of important science groups. These included the Academia Brasileira de Ciências (Brazilian Academy of Sciences) and the TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. He received special honorary degrees from the Universidade Federal do Ceará and the University of Brasília.
Helping Math Teachers
Elon Lages Lima wrote more than thirty books about mathematics. Some of these books were made especially for secondary school teachers. He wanted to help teachers become even better at teaching math.
From 1990 to 1995, he led a special project called IMPA-VITAE. This project offered courses to improve the skills of math teachers. These courses were held in eleven cities across eight different states in Brazil. This shows how much he cared about spreading math knowledge.
For his great work, he received the grã-cruz ("Great Cross"). This is part of the Ordem Nacional do Mérito Científico ("National Order of Scientific Merit") of Brazil. It is one of the highest honors for scientists in the country.
