Samuel James Patterson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel James Patterson
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Samuel Patterson (2nd from right) 2004 in Oberwolfach, with (from left) Martin Huxley, Yōichi Motohashi, Matti Jutila
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| Born | September 7, 1948 |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University (PhD) |
| Known for | The Patterson-Sullivan measure Disproving the Kummer conjecture on cubic Gauss sums |
| Awards | Whitehead Prize (1984) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Discontinuous groups analytic number theory |
| Institutions | University of Göttingen |
| Thesis | The Limit Set of a Fuchsian Group (1975) |
| Doctoral advisor | Alan Beardon |
Samuel James Patterson, born on September 7, 1948, in Belfast, is a mathematician from Northern Ireland. He is an expert in a field called analytic number theory. This area of math uses tools from calculus to study whole numbers. Since 1981, he has been a professor at the University of Göttingen in Germany.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
Samuel Patterson grew up in the eastern part of Belfast. He went to Grosvenor High School. In 1967, he started studying at Clare College, Cambridge, a famous university in England. He earned his first degree in mathematics in 1970. Later, in 1975, he completed his PhD. His PhD research was about "The limit set of a Fuchsian group." This work was supervised by Alan Beardon.
Career as a Professor
After finishing his studies, Professor Patterson spent time at different universities. He was at Göttingen from 1974 to 1975. Then he returned to Cambridge from 1975 to 1979. From 1979 to 1981, he taught at Harvard University in the United States. In 1981, he became a mathematics professor at the University of Göttingen. He taught there until he retired in 2011.
Professor Patterson has a brother named David Joseph Patterson. David is also a scientist, known for studying and classifying living things.
Mathematics
Exploring Number Theory
Professor Patterson's work in mathematics covers many interesting topics. He studies special groups of numbers called Fuchsian groups. He also looks at different types of zeta functions. These are special mathematical functions used to understand numbers.
He also explores metaplectic groups and exponential sums. These are advanced topics in analytic number theory. They help mathematicians understand patterns in numbers.
Solving Math Puzzles
In 1978, Professor Patterson worked with Roger Heath-Brown. Together, they showed that a long-standing idea about "Kummer sums" was not quite right. This idea was known as the Kummer conjecture on cubic Gauss sums.
Professor Patterson then suggested a new idea related to these sums. This new idea was finally proven true in 2021. It was proven by Alexander Dunn and Maksym Radziwiłł at Caltech.
The Patterson-Sullivan Measure
In 1976, Professor Patterson introduced a special mathematical tool. It later became known as the Patterson-Sullivan measure. This concept was further developed by Dennis Sullivan starting in 1979. It is a useful way to measure things in mathematics. It helps mathematicians study Fuchsian and Kleinian groups. These are special groups of numbers and their "limit sets."
History of Mathematics
Professor Patterson is also very interested in the history of mathematics. He has helped update classic math textbooks. For example, he wrote an introduction for a new edition of a book by Hermann Weyl. He also wrote an introduction for a classic textbook by Whittaker and Watson. He has also worked with Norbert Schappacher. They helped explain the life story of a mathematician named Kurt Heegner.
Honors and Awards
Recognitions and Prizes
In 1984, Professor Patterson received the Whitehead Prize. This is a special award from the London Mathematical Society. He is also part of the executive committee for the Leibniz Archives in Hannover. Since 1998, he has been a member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences. From 1982 to 1994, he was an editor for Crelle's Journal. This means he helped decide which math papers would be published.
Celebrating His Work
To celebrate his 60th birthday, friends and colleagues held a special conference. This event took place in Göttingen in July 2009. Many famous mathematicians spoke at the gathering. These included Daniel Bump, Dorian Goldfeld, David Kazhdan, and Andrew Ranicki. A special book was also created in his honor. It is called Contributions in Analytic and Algebraic Number Theory. This book was published in 2012 and contains articles related to his work.
