Tan Lei facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tan Lei
谭蕾 |
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Tan Lei in Oberwolfach, 2008
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| Born | 18 March 1963 Pingxiang, Jiangxi, China
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| Died | 1 April 2016 (aged 53) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Education | Wuhan University (BA) University of Paris-Sud, Orsay (MA) University of Paris-Sud, Orsay (PhD) |
| Spouse(s) | Hans Henrik Rugh |
| Children | 2 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Thesis | Accouplements des polynômes quadratiques complexes (1986) |
| Doctoral advisor | Adrien Douady |
Tan Lei (Chinese: 谭蕾; 1963–2016) was a brilliant mathematician from China. She was known for her work with complex numbers. These are numbers that have a "real" part and an "imaginary" part. She studied how these numbers behave in special patterns.
Her most famous work was on the Mandelbrot set and Julia set. These are amazing shapes called fractals. Fractals are patterns that look similar no matter how much you zoom in.
Her Journey in Mathematics
Tan Lei earned her PhD in Mathematics in 1986. She studied at the University of Paris-Sud in France. After that, she worked as a researcher in different places.
- She was an assistant researcher in Geneva.
- She did special projects at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics.
- She also worked at the University of Bremen until 1989.
In 1989, she became a lecturer in France. She taught at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon. Later, from 1995 to 1999, she worked at the University of Warwick. This university is in the United Kingdom.
After that, she became a senior lecturer at Cergy-Pontoise University. Finally, in 2009, she became a professor. She taught at the University of Angers.
Exploring Fractal Patterns
Tan Lei made important discoveries about the Julia set and Mandelbrot set. She looked at how these fractal shapes were similar. She also studied how they were different.
For example, she showed that at certain points, these sets look very much alike. If you zoom in and turn them, they appear almost the same. She also created examples of special math problems. The Julia sets for these problems looked like a Sierpiński carpet. These sets were also "disconnected," meaning they had separate pieces.
She also helped explain other areas of complex dynamics. This is a field that studies how complex numbers change over time. Tan Lei also wrote articles to help people understand her research. She wanted to share the beauty of these mathematical ideas.
Remembering Tan Lei
Tan Lei passed away in 2016. To honor her work, a special meeting was held. This conference took place in Beijing, China, in May 2016. It was a way to remember her important contributions to mathematics.
