Hellmuth Stachel (born October 6, 1942 in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
) is an
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
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 ...
, a Professor of Geometry at the
Technical University of Vienna
TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...
, who is known due to his contributions to
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
,
kinematics
Kinematics is a subfield of physics, developed in classical mechanics, that describes the Motion (physics), motion of points, Physical object, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the forces that cause ...
and
computer-aided design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
.
Biography
Hellmuth Stachel was born on October 6, 1942 in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
to the family of primary school teachers. He graduated from an elementary school in
Trofaiach and secondary school (gymnasium) in
Leoben
Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, an armistice bet ...
. In 1965 he graduated from the
University of Graz
The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
History
The unive ...
and
Graz University of Technology
Graz University of Technology (german: link=no, Technische Universität Graz, short ''TU Graz'') is one of five universities in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research ...
, obtaining a diploma of a school teacher in “
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
” and “
descriptive geometry.” As a Ph.D. student of Graz University he majored in “mathematics,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
.” His doctoral advisor was Professor Fritz Hohenberg. Hellmuth Stachel obtained his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in 1969 from Graz University and passed thought
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in 1971 at the Technical University of Graz. In 1980 he moved to the
Vienna University of Technology
TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...
.
Hellmuth Stachel held several visiting positions in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
: in August 1984 he was a visiting professor at
South China University of Technology
The South China University of Technology (SCUT; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The university is co-sponsored by the China Ministry of Education and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government.
The university is a mul ...
in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and, in October 1989, at
Tongji University
Tongji University () is a comprehensive public research university located in Shanghai. Established in 1907 by the German government together with German physicians in Shanghai, Tongji is one of the longest-standing, most selective, and most pr ...
in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
.
Professor Stachel takes an active part in the work o
“International Society for Geometry and Graphics”(ISGG). In 1990 he was elected a chairman and, in 1994, a vice-president of the society. In 1996 he has created the scientific journa
Journal for Geometry and Graphicsand since then serves it as the Editor-in-Chief.
Research
Hellmuth Stachel wrote 3 books (in cooperation with other scholars) and approximately 120 scientific articles on classical and descriptive
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
,
kinematics
Kinematics is a subfield of physics, developed in classical mechanics, that describes the Motion (physics), motion of points, Physical object, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the forces that cause ...
and the theory of mechanisms, as well as on
computer aided design. He studied
flexible polyhedra
In geometry, a flexible polyhedron is a polyhedral surface without any boundary edges, whose shape can be continuously changed while keeping the shapes of all of its faces unchanged. The Cauchy rigidity theorem shows that in dimension 3 such ...
in the 4-dimensional Euclidean space and 3-dimensional
Lobachevsky space.
Awards and prizes
In 1991 Hellmuth Stachel was elected a corresponding member of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 1993 he received the “German-Austrian University-Software Award” for the development of educational Cad-3D programs. In 2004 he receive
The Steve M. Slaby Award On November, 1st 2010 Hellmuth Stachel received an honorary doctorate from the
Dresden University of Technology
TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...
.
Books
* G. Glaeser and H. Stachel. ''Open Geometry: OpenGL + Advanced Geometry''. Springer: New York, 1999, 392 p. .
* T. Arens, F. Hettlich, Ch. Karpfinger, U. Kockelkorn, K. Lichtenegger, and H. Stachel. ''Mathematik'', 1.Aufl. Spektrum: Heidelberg, 2008, 1500 p. .
* T. Arens, F. Hettlich, Ch. Karpfinger, U. Kockelkorn, K. Lichtenegger, and H. Stachel. ''Arbeitsbuch Mathematik''. Spektrum: Heidelberg, 2009, 683 p. .
* G. Glaeser, H. Stachel and B. Odehnal. ''The Universe of Conics: From the ancient Greeks to 21st century developments''. Springer Spektrum: Heidelberg, 1st ed. 2016, 488 p. .
* B. Odehnal, G. Glaeser and H. Stachel. ''The Universe of Quadrics''. Springer: NY, 1st ed. 2020, 600 p.
Articles on flexible polyhedra
* H. Stachel. ''Flexible octahedra in the hyperbolic space''. In the book: ''Non-Euclidean geometries. János Bolyai memorial volume'' (Eds. A. Prékopa et al.). New York: Springer. Mathematics and its Applications (Springer) 581, 209–225 (2006). .
* H. Stachel. ''Flexible cross-polytopes in the Euclidean 4-space''. J. Geom. Graph. 4, No.2, 159–167 (2000). ISSN 1433-8157.
* H. Stachel. ''Higher order flexibility of octahedra''. Period. Math. Hung. 39, No.1–3, 225–240 (1999). ISSN 0031-5303.
Further reading
* ''To 60th birthday of Professor Hellmuth Stachel, the ISGG vice-president''. In the book: ''Applied Geometry and Graphics'' (The interdepartmental collection of proceedings), issue 72. Kyiv: KNUBA, 2003. P. 222–223. ISSN 0131-579X.
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stachel, Hellmuth
1942 births
Living people
Scientists from Graz
Academics of TU Wien
20th-century Austrian mathematicians
21st-century Austrian mathematicians