Antony John Wassermann (born 1957) is a British mathematician, working in

operator algebras In functional analysis, a branch of mathematics, an operator algebra is an algebra of continuous linear operators on a topological vector space, with the multiplication given by the composition of mappings. The results obtained in the study of ...

. He is known for his works on

conformal field theory A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometimes ...

(providing several series of subfactors), on the actions of

compact group In mathematics, a compact (topological) group is a topological group whose topology realizes it as a compact topological space (when an element of the group is operated on, the result is also within the group). Compact groups are a natural gen ...

s on

von Neumann algebras In mathematics, a von Neumann algebra or W*-algebra is a *-algebra of bounded operators on a Hilbert space that is closed in the weak operator topology and contains the identity operator. It is a special type of C*-algebra. Von Neumann alge ...

, and his proof of the

Baum–Connes conjecture In mathematics, specifically in operator K-theory, the Baum–Connes conjecture suggests a link between the operator K-theory, K-theory of the reduced C*-algebra of a group theory, group and the K-homology of the classifying space of proper act ...

for connected reductive linear Lie groups.Two paragraphs citation for the Junior Whitehead Prize, published in the Bull. London Math. Soc., January 1991
/ref>

Biography

He attended

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne (By Learning, You Will Lead) , established = , closed = , type = Grammar SchoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Geoffrey Stanford , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , cha ...

from 1968 to 1974, and received his PhD at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1981, under the supervision of Jonathan Rosenberg (''Automorphic actions of compact groups on operator algebras''). He was ''Directeur de Recherches''

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II o ...

(France) from 1999 to 2013.Activity report, ''Institut de Mathématiques de Luminy'', page 152
/ref> He is currently affiliated with the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS). He is the son of the quantum physicist Gerhard Dietrich Wassermann and the brother of the mathematician Alexander Simon Wassermann.

Honours

* Bronze medal,

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...

, 1974. *

Miller Research Fellows The Miller Research Fellows program is the central program of the Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science on the University of California Berkeley campus. The program constitutes the support of Research Fellows - a ...

hip recipient in 1986–88. * Winner of the

Whitehead Prize The Whitehead Prize is awarded yearly by the London Mathematical Society to multiple mathematicians working in the United Kingdom who are at an early stage of their career. The prize is named in memory of homotopy theory pioneer J. H. C. Whiteh ...

in 1990. * Invited speaker,

International Congresses of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the Nevanlinna Prize (to be rename ...

, 1994, Zürich.Invited speakers, International Congresses of Mathematicians
/ref>

Selected bibliography

* ''Operator algebras and conformal field theory. III. Fusion of positive energy representations of LSU(N) using bounded operators.'' Invent. Math. 133, no. 3, 467–538, 1998
MR1645078
* ''Operator algebras and conformal field theory.'' Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians, Vol. 1, 2 (Zürich, 1994), 966–979, Birkhäuser, Basel, 1995
MR1403996
* ''Ergodic actions of compact groups on operator algebras. I. General theory.'' Ann. of Math. (2) 130, no. 2, 273–319, 1989
MR1014926
* ''Ergodic actions of compact groups on operator algebras. III.'' Classification for SU(2). Invent. Math. 93, no. 2, 309–354, 1988
MR948104
* ''Une démonstration de la conjecture de Connes–Kasparov pour les groupes de Lie linéaires connexes réductifs'' proof of the Connes–Kasparov conjecture for connected reductive linear Lie groups C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Sér. I Math. 304, no. 18, 559–562, 1987
MR894996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wassermann, Antony 20th-century English mathematicians University of Pennsylvania alumni Whitehead Prize winners International Mathematical Olympiad participants 21st-century English mathematicians Living people Academic staff of Aix-Marseille University 1957 births Cambridge mathematicians People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne