Oleg Yanovich Viro (russian: Олег Янович Виро) (b. 13 May 1948,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) is a Russian

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 ...

in the fields of

topology In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...

and

algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical ...

, most notably

real algebraic geometry In mathematics, real algebraic geometry is the sub-branch of algebraic geometry studying real algebraic sets, i.e. real-number solutions to algebraic equations with real-number coefficients, and mappings between them (in particular real polynomial ...

tropical geometry In mathematics, tropical geometry is the study of polynomials and their geometric properties when addition is replaced with minimization and multiplication is replaced with ordinary addition: : x \oplus y = \min\, : x \otimes y = x + y. So f ...

and

knot theory In the mathematical field of topology, knot theory is the study of knot (mathematics), mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are ...

Contributions

Viro developed a "patchworking" technique in algebraic geometry, which allows real

algebraic varieties Algebraic varieties are the central objects of study in algebraic geometry, a sub-field of mathematics. Classically, an algebraic variety is defined as the set of solutions of a system of polynomial equations over the real or complex numbers. Mo ...

to be constructed by a "cut and paste" method. Using this technique, Viro completed the isotopy classification of non-singular plane projective curves of degree 7. The patchworking technique was one of the fundamental ideas which motivated the development of

. In

, Viro is most known for his joint work with

Vladimir Turaev Vladimir Georgievich Turaev (Владимир Георгиевич Тураев, born in 1954) is a Russian mathematician, specializing in topology. Turaev received in 1979 from the Steklov Institute of Mathematics his Candidate of Sciences degre ...

, in which the Turaev-Viro invariants (relatives of the Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants) and related

topological quantum field theory In gauge theory and mathematical physics, a topological quantum field theory (or topological field theory or TQFT) is a quantum field theory which computes topological invariants. Although TQFTs were invented by physicists, they are also of mathem ...

notions were introduced.

Education and career

Viro studied at the

Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1974; his advisor was Vladimir Rokhlin. Viro taught from 1973 until 1991 at

. Since 1986 he has been a member of the Saint Petersburg Department of the

Steklov Institute of Mathematics Steklov Institute of Mathematics or Steklov Mathematical Institute (russian: Математический институт имени В.А.Стеклова) is a premier research institute based in Moscow, specialized in mathematics, and a part ...

. In 1992-1997, Viro was a F. B. Jones chair professor in Topology at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

. In 1994-2003 he was a professor at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. On 8 February 2007, Viro and his colleague Burglind Juhl-Jöricke were forced to resign from the university. There had been a history of conflict at the Mathematics Institute, with allegations of disagreeable behavior by several parties in the conflict. A number of Swedish, European and American mathematicians protested the manner in which the two Professors of Mathematics were forced to resign. These protests include the following: *an open letter by

Lennart Carleson Lennart Axel Edvard Carleson (born 18 March 1928) is a Swedish mathematician, known as a leader in the field of harmonic analysis. One of his most noted accomplishments is his proof of Lusin's conjecture. He was awarded the Abel Prize in 2006 fo ...

, former president of the

International Mathematical Union The International Mathematical Union (IMU) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of mathematics across the world. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC) and supports ...

, *a letter by

Ari Laptev Ari Laptev (born August 10, 1950) is a mathematician working on the spectral theory of partial differential equations. His PhD was obtained in 1978 at Leningrad State University under the supervision of Michael Solomyak.European Mathematical Society The European Mathematical Society (EMS) is a European organization dedicated to the development of mathematics in Europe. Its members are different mathematical societies in Europe, academic institutions and individual mathematicians. The current ...

, and *a letter from M. Salah Baouendi,

Arthur Jaffe Arthur Michael Jaffe (; born December 22, 1937) is an American mathematical physicist at Harvard University, where in 1985 he succeeded George Mackey as the Landon T. Clay Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Science. Education and career ...

Joel Lebowitz Joel Louis Lebowitz (born May 10, 1930) is a mathematical physicist widely acknowledged for his outstanding contributions to statistical physics, statistical mechanics and many other fields of Mathematics and Physics. Lebowitz has published mor ...

Elliott H. Lieb Elliott Hershel Lieb (born July 31, 1932) is an American mathematical physics#Mathematically rigorous physics, mathematical physicist and professor of mathematics and physics at Princeton University who specializes in statistical mechanics, Cond ...

and

Nicolai Reshetikhin Nicolai Yuryevich Reshetikhin (russian: Николай Юрьевич Решетихин, born October 10, 1958 in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a mathematical physicist, currently a professor of mathematics at Tsinghua University, China and a profe ...

. As of 2009, Viro is a senior researcher at the St. Petersburg Department of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics, and a professor at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

Awards and honors

Viro 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 1983 (

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

) and the

European Congress of Mathematicians The European Congress of Mathematics (ECM) is the second largest international conference of the mathematics community, after the International Congresses of Mathematicians (ICM). The ECM are held every four years and are timed precisely betwee ...

in 2000 (

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

). He was awarded the

Göran Gustafsson Prize The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

(1997) by the Swedish government. In 2012 he became a fellow of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

.List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
retrieved 2013-08-29.

References

External links

Oleg Viro's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viro, Oleg 1948 births Living people 20th-century Russian mathematicians 21st-century Russian mathematicians Soviet mathematicians Topologists Algebraic geometers University of California, Riverside faculty Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Stony Brook University faculty