Tadashi Tokieda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tadashi Tokieda
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Tokieda in 2013
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| Born | 1968 (age 56–57) Tokyo, Japan
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| Education | Sophia University University of Oxford Princeton University |
| Awards | Paul R. Halmos–Lester R. Ford Award (2014) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Princeton University Cambridge University Stanford University |
| Thesis | Null Sets of Symplectic Capacity |
| Doctoral advisor | William Browder |
Tadashi Tokieda (born in 1968) is a Japanese mathematician and physicist. He is a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Before that, he worked at Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge.
Professor Tokieda is famous for his amazing public lectures. In these lectures, he uses everyday toys to show how mathematics and physics work in surprising ways. He makes learning about these subjects fun and easy to understand.
His journey to becoming a mathematician was quite unusual. He first wanted to be a painter. Then, he studied old languages like Latin and Greek, a field called classical philology. After that, he finally switched to mathematics.
Life and His Journey
Tadashi Tokieda was born in Tokyo, Japan. When he was young, he dreamed of becoming a painter. Later, he moved to France and studied classical philology at a school called Lycée Sainte-Marie Grand Lebrun. This means he learned about ancient languages and cultures.
It was during this time that he taught himself basic mathematics. He used special problem books from Russia to learn on his own. This shows how curious and determined he was!
He went to Sophia University in Tokyo and graduated in classics in 1989. Then, he studied mathematics at Oxford University in England, finishing in 1991. He earned his PhD in 1996 from Princeton University in the United States.
Professor Tokieda has helped many students around the world. He was involved with the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences right from when it started in 2003. This institute helps young African students learn advanced math and science.
In 2004, he became a Fellow at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was in charge of mathematics studies there. He also spent time as a special fellow at Harvard University in 2013–2014. Later, in 2015–2016, he was a visiting professor at Stanford before becoming a full professor there.
A Master of Languages
Besides his native language, Japanese, Professor Tokieda is also fluent in French and English. But that's not all! He knows many other languages, including ancient Greek, Latin, classical Chinese, Finnish, Spanish, and Russian.
When someone asked him how many languages he knows, he said, "I don't really know. It's like asking how many friends you have." He has lived in eight different countries, which has helped him learn so much about the world and its languages.
In 2020, he was interviewed on a popular podcast called The Joy of X. He shared more about his unique ideas and his love for math and physics.
