Bernard Morris Dwork (May 27, 1923 – May 9, 1998) was an American
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
, known for his application of
''p''-adic analysis to
local zeta functions, and in particular for a proof of the first part of the
Weil conjectures
In mathematics, the Weil conjectures were highly influential proposals by . They led to a successful multi-decade program to prove them, in which many leading researchers developed the framework of modern algebraic geometry and number theory.
Th ...
: the rationality of the
zeta-function
In mathematics, a zeta function is (usually) a function analogous to the original example, the Riemann zeta function
: \zeta(s) = \sum_^\infty \frac 1 .
Zeta functions include:
* Airy zeta function, related to the zeros of the Airy function
* ...
of a
variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
over a
finite field
In mathematics, a finite field or Galois field (so-named in honor of Évariste Galois) is a field that contains a finite number of elements. As with any field, a finite field is a set on which the operations of multiplication, addition, subtr ...
. The general theme of Dwork's research was ''p''-adic
cohomology
In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups, usually one associated with a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. Cohomology can be viewe ...
and ''p''-adic
differential equation
In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, an ...
s. He published two papers under the pseudonym Maurizio Boyarsky.
Career
Dwork received his Ph.D. at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1954 under direction of
Emil Artin (his formal advisor was
John Tate);
Nick Katz
Nicholas Michael Katz (born December 7, 1943) is an American mathematician, working in arithmetic geometry, particularly on ''p''-adic methods, monodromy and moduli problems, and number theory. He is currently a professor of Mathematics at ...
was one of his students.
[.]
For his proof of the first part of the Weil conjectures, Dwork received (together with
Kenkichi Iwasawa
Kenkichi Iwasawa ( ''Iwasawa Kenkichi'', September 11, 1917 – October 26, 1998) was a Japanese mathematician who is known for his influence on algebraic number theory.
Biography
Iwasawa was born in Shinshuku-mura, a town near Kiryū, in Gunm ...
) the
Cole Prize in 1962.
[Memorial article]
– by Nick Katz
Nicholas Michael Katz (born December 7, 1943) is an American mathematician, working in arithmetic geometry, particularly on ''p''-adic methods, monodromy and moduli problems, and number theory. He is currently a professor of Mathematics at ...
and John Tate. He received a
Guggenheim Fellowship in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
.
Personal life
Dwork is the father of
computer scientist Cynthia Dwork
Cynthia Dwork (born June 27, 1958) is an American computer scientist at Harvard University, where she is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and Affiliated Professo ...
, who received the
Dijkstra Prize
The Edsger W. Dijkstra Paper Prize in Distributed Computing is given for outstanding papers on the principles of distributed computing, whose significance and impact on the theory and/or practice of distributed computing has been evident for at lea ...
and is now continuing as a Radcliffe Scholar at Harvard University. His other daughter, historian
Deborah Dwork
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
, received a Guggenheim Fellowship in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
. Additionally, his son Andrew Dwork works as a Professor of Clinical Pathology and Cell Biology (in Psychiatry), at Columbia University, focusing his work on neuropathology of psychiatric disorders.
See also
*
Dwork family In algebraic geometry, a Dwork family is a one-parameter family of hypersurfaces depending on an integer ''n'', studied by Bernard Dwork. Originally considered by Dwork in the context of local zeta-function In number theory, the local zeta function ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwork, Bernard
1923 births
1998 deaths
Algebraic geometers
20th-century American mathematicians
Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars
Columbia University alumni
Princeton University faculty