is a Japanese

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 as, with

Peter Orlik Peter Paul Nikolas Orlik (born 12 November 1938, in Budapest) is an American mathematician, known for his research on topology, algebra, and combinatorics. Orlik earned in 1961 his bachelor's degree from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Tr ...

and Louis Solomon, a pioneer of the theory of arrangements of hyperplanes. He was awarded a

Mathematical Society of Japan The Mathematical Society of Japan (MSJ, ja, 日本数学会) is a learned society for mathematics in Japan. In 1877, the organization was established as the ''Tokyo Sugaku Kaisha'' and was the first academic society in Japan. It was re-organized ...

Algebra Prize in 2010.

Education

Terao started his studies at the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

, where he earned in 1974 his bachelor's degree and in 1976 his master's degree. For his graduate studies he went to Kyoto University, where he earned in 1981 his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree, with a thesis written under the supervision of

Kyoji Saito Kyōji Saitō (齋藤恭司, Saitō Kyōji; born 25 December 1944) is a Japanese mathematician, specializing in algebraic geometry and complex analytic geometry. Education and career Saito received in 1971 his promotion Ph.D. from the Universi ...

Career

He held teaching positions at

International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, commonly known as ICU. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first l ...

(1977–1991),

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

(1990–1999),

Tokyo Metropolitan University , often referred to as TMU, is a public research university in Japan. Origin The origin of Tokyo Metropolitan University was Prefectural Higher School, under the old system of education, established by Tokyo Prefecture in 1929 as the third pu ...

(1998–2006), and

Hokkaido University , or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...

(1996–1998, 2006–2015). He was

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the school of science of Hokkaido University (2013–2015), after which he became

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of Hokkaido University (2015–2017). He has been a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at Hokkaido University since 2017. He is currently a guest professor at

Research

In 1983, Terao asked whether the freeness of an arrangement is determined from its intersection lattice.Hiroaki Terao, ''The exponents of a free hypersurface'', Singularities, Part 2 (Arcata, Calif., 1981), 561–566, Proc. Sympos. Pure Math., 40, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 1983. This problem is now known as the Terao conjecture, and is still open.

Books

* *

References

External links

* *
Hiroaki Terao's Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terao, Hiroaki 1951 births Living people 20th-century Japanese mathematicians 21st-century Japanese mathematicians Academic staff of Hokkaido University University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty International Christian University alumni University of Tokyo alumni Kyoto University alumni People from Tokyo Japanese expatriates in the United States