Edwin Earl Floyd (8 May 1924, in

Eufaula, Alabama Eufaula is the largest city in Barbour County, Alabama, Barbour County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census the city's population was 13,137. History The site along the Chattahoochee River that is now moder ...

– 9 December 1990) was an American mathematician, specializing in topology (especially

cobordism In mathematics, cobordism is a fundamental equivalence relation on the class of compact manifolds of the same dimension, set up using the concept of the boundary (French '' bord'', giving ''cobordism'') of a manifold. Two manifolds of the same dim ...

theory).

Education and career

Floyd studied received in 1943 his bachelor's degree from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

and in 1948 his Ph.D. from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

under

Gordon Whyburn Gordon Thomas Whyburn (7 January 1904 Lewisville, Texas – 8 September 1969 Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American mathematician who worked on topology. Whyburn studied at the University of Texas in Austin, where he received a bachel ...

with thesis ''The extension of homeomorphisms''. He was in the academic year 1948–1949 an instructor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and became in 1949 a member of the faculty of the University of Virginia, where in the 1960s he collaborated with

Pierre Conner Pierre Euclide Conner (27 June 1932, Houston, Texas – 3 February 2018, New Orleans, Louisiana) was an American mathematician, who worked on algebraic topology and differential topology (especially cobordism theory). In 1955 Conner received his ...

in research on cobordism theory. At the University of Virginia, he was the chair of the department of mathematics from 1966 to 1969 and since 1966 the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Mathematics. In 1974 he became the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and in 1981 the vice-president and provost of the university. In the academic years 1958/59 and 1963/64 he was a visiting scholar at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

. From 1960 to 1964 he was a

Sloan Fellow The Sloan Fellows program is the world's first mid-career and senior career master's degree in general management and leadership. It was initially supported by a grant from Alfred P. Sloan, the late CEO of General Motors, to his alma mater, MIT ...

. In 1962 he was an

invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians This is a list of International Congresses of Mathematicians Plenary and Invited Speakers. Being invited to talk at an International Congress of Mathematicians has been called "the equivalent, in this community, of an induction to a hall of fame." ...

in Stockholm and gave a talk ''Some connections between cobordism and transformation groups''. In 1964 he was the Hedrick Lecturer of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

. In 1981 he received the Thomas Jefferson Award of the University of Virginia. His burial was in University Cemetery, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Personal life

Floyd had a daughter,

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sortie (siege warfare), Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, ...

Selected publications

Articles

* * * * *with R. W. Richardson: *with Pierre E. Conner: *with P. E. Conner: *with P. E. Conner: *with P. E. Conner: *

Books

*with Pierre E. Conner: 2nd edn. 1979 *with P. E. Conner: *with P. E. Conner:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, Edwin 20th-century American mathematicians 1924 births 1990 deaths People from Eufaula, Alabama University of Alabama alumni University of Virginia alumni University of Virginia faculty Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars Topologists Mathematicians from Alabama