Life and work of Friedrich Hirzebruch (Q2351701): Difference between revisions

Friedrich Hirzebruch died in the year 2012 at the age of 84. He certainly was one of the most important German mathematicians of the second half of the 20th century. He helped to reshape mathematics after the Second World War in Germany and made beautiful discoveries in mathematics. In this description of his life and works, the author succeeds in giving a detailed account of the main stages in the career of Hirzebruch with an emphasis on his mathematical achievements as well as his ways in which he helped to reshape German mathematics after 1945. After tracing Hirzebruch's life up to the `Golden Years' 1952--54 in Princeton, the author gives an overview of Hirzebruch's work on characteristic classes, genera, and the signature theorem. The Hirzebruch-Riemann-Roche theorem and its applications are discussed before the author turns again to some facts of Hirzebruch's life, especially his `Topologische Methoden' (cf. [Zbl 0843.14009]) which he wrote while being a postdoc in Münster and his way to Bonn where he stayed as a full professor. There he founded the `Arbeitstagung' -- a new meeting which has survived up to this day. The collaboration with Sir Michael Atiyah and the invention of topological \(K\)-theory are described, of course, as well as his work to establish the `Sonderforschungsbereich Theoretische Mathematik' and the foundation of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics. The paper is very readable and a felicitous memorial to a great mathematician.