Věra Trnková facts for kids

Věra Šedivá-Trnková (born March 16, 1934 – died May 27, 2018) was a famous mathematician from the Czech Republic. She was known for her important work in two areas of mathematics: topology and category theory.

Early Life and Learning

Věra Trnková was born on March 16, 1934. Her birthplace was Berehove, which was part of Czechoslovakia back then. Today, Berehove is in Ukraine. Her father worked as a forester.

When Věra was in high school, her family moved to Prague. She then went to Charles University to study mathematics. There, she worked with a professor named Miroslav Katětov.

She focused on a field called general topology. In 1957, she earned her master's degree. Her master's paper was about special kinds of spaces in topology.

Věra continued her studies at Charles University. She became a doctoral student of Eduard Čech, another well-known mathematician. In 1961, she earned her "candidate's degree." This degree is like a Ph.D. in the Czech Republic. Later, in 1989, she received another high degree called Dr.Sc.

Her Career Journey

In 1960, while still a student, Věra Trnková started working at Charles University. She became an assistant professor. Over the years, she moved up in her career.

She became an associate professor in 1967. Then, she became a senior researcher in 1986. Finally, in 1991, she became a full professor. She retired from her work in 1999. Věra Trnková passed away on May 27, 2018.

Her Amazing Research

Věra Trnková started her career studying general topology. But by 1962, she began to focus on category theory. This is a more advanced area of mathematics.

Her work in category theory included many different topics. She studied how to complete categories. She also looked at how to fit categories into spaces in topology. Věra also worked on automata theory using category ideas. This is about how machines and systems work. She also studied how objects in categories can be the same when multiplied.

Věra Trnková wrote over 100 research papers. She also wrote two important books:

• Combinatorial, algebraic and topological representations of groups, semigroups and categories (with Aleš Pultr, 1980)
• Automata and algebras in categories (with Jiří Adámek, 1990)