Peter David Lax (born Lax Péter Dávid; 1 May 1926) is a Hungarian-born American mathematician and
Abel Prize
The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...
laureate working in the areas of pure and applied
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 ...
.
Lax has made important contributions to
integrable system
In mathematics, integrability is a property of certain dynamical systems. While there are several distinct formal definitions, informally speaking, an integrable system is a dynamical system with sufficiently many conserved quantities, or first ...
s,
fluid dynamics
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
and
shock wave
In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...
s,
soliton
In mathematics and physics, a soliton or solitary wave is a self-reinforcing wave packet that maintains its shape while it propagates at a constant velocity. Solitons are caused by a cancellation of nonlinear and dispersive effects in the medium ...
ic physics, hyperbolic conservation laws, and mathematical and
scientific computing
Computational science, also known as scientific computing or scientific computation (SC), is a field in mathematics that uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and solve complex problems. It is an area of science that spans many disc ...
, among other fields.
In a 1958 paper Lax stated a conjecture about
matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...
representations for third order
hyperbolic polynomials which remained unproven for over four decades. Interest in the "Lax conjecture" grew as mathematicians working in several different areas recognized the importance of its implications in their field, until it was finally proven to be true in 2003.
Life and education
Lax was born in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. Lax began displaying an interest in mathematics at age twelve, and soon his parents hired
Rózsa Péter
Rózsa Péter, born Rózsa Politzer, (17 February 1905 – 16 February 1977) was a Hungarian mathematician and logician. She is best known as the "founding mother of recursion theory".
Early life and education
Péter was born in Budapest, ...
as a tutor for him.
His parents Klara Kornfield and Henry Lax were both physicians and his uncle Albert Kornfeld (also known as Albert Korodi) was a mathematician, as well as a friend of
Leó Szilárd
Leo Szilard (; hu, Szilárd Leó, pronounced ; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-German-American physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear ...
.
The family left Hungary on 15 November 1941, and traveled via
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
to the United States. As a high school student at
Stuyvesant High School, Lax took no math classes but did compete on the school math team. During this time, he met with
John von Neumann
John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...
,
Richard Courant
Richard Courant (January 8, 1888 – January 27, 1972) was a German American mathematician. He is best known by the general public for the book '' What is Mathematics?'', co-written with Herbert Robbins. His research focused on the areas of real ...
, and
Paul Erdős
Paul Erdős ( hu, Erdős Pál ; 26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. pursued and proposed problems in ...
, who introduced him to
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
.
As he was still 17 when he finished high school, he could avoid military service, and was able to study for three semesters at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. He attended a
complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates Function (mathematics), functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathemati ...
class in the role of a student, but ended up taking over as instructor. He met his future wife,
Anneli Cahn (married to her first husband at that time) in this class.
Before being able to complete his studies, Lax was drafted into the U.S. Army. After basic training, the Army sent him to
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
for more studies. He was then sent to
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...
, and soon afterwards to the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
at
Los Alamos,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. At Los Alamos, he began working as a calculator operator, but eventually moved on to higher-level mathematics.
After the war ended, he remained with the Army at Los Alamos for another year, while taking courses at the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
, then studied at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
for a semester with
Gábor Szegő
Gábor Szegő () (January 20, 1895 – August 7, 1985) was a Hungarian-American mathematician. He was one of the foremost mathematical analysts of his generation and made fundamental contributions to the theory of orthogonal polynomials and ...
and
George Pólya
George Pólya (; hu, Pólya György, ; December 13, 1887 – September 7, 1985) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was a professor of mathematics from 1914 to 1940 at ETH Zürich and from 1940 to 1953 at Stanford University. He made fundamental ...
.
Lax returned to NYU for the 1946–1947 academic year, and by pooling credits from the four universities at which he had studied, he graduated that year. He stayed at NYU for his graduate studies, marrying Anneli in 1948 and earning a PhD in 1949 under the supervision of
Kurt O. Friedrichs
Kurt Otto Friedrichs (September 28, 1901 – December 31, 1982) was a noted German-American mathematician. He was the co-founder of the Courant Institute at New York University, and a recipient of the National Medal of Science.
Biography
Friedri ...
.
[.]
Lax holds a faculty position in the Department of Mathematics,
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU), and is among the most prestigious mathematics schools and mathematical sciences research cente ...
,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Awards and honors
He is a member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick Unive ...
and the
National Academy of Sciences, USA
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
, and the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. He won a
Lester R. Ford Award
Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. Notable people and characters with the name include:
People
Given name
* Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic
* Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American artist from Wisc ...
in 1966 and again in 1973.
In 1974 his shock wave article
also won the
Chauvenet Prize
The Chauvenet Prize is the highest award for mathematical expository writing. It consists of a prize of $1,000 and a certificate, and is awarded yearly by the Mathematical Association of America in recognition of an outstanding expository article ...
. He was awarded the
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
in 1986, the
Wolf Prize
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for ''"achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of natio ...
in 1987, the
Abel Prize
The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...
in 2005 and the
Lomonosov Gold Medal
The Lomonosov Gold Medal (russian: Большая золотая медаль имени М. В. Ломоносова ''Bol'shaya zolotaya medal' imeni M. V. Lomonosova''), named after Russian scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, is awarde ...
in 2013. 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, ...
selected him as its Gibbs Lecturer for 2007. 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, ...
.
Lax is listed as an
ISI highly cited researcher
The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was an academic publishing service, founded by Eugene Garfield in Philadelphia in 1956. ISI offered scientometric and bibliographic database services. Its specialty was citation indexing and analysis, ...
. According to
György Marx
György Marx (25 May 1927 – 2 December 2002) was a Hungarian physicist, astrophysicist, science historian and professor. He discovered the lepton numbers and established the law of lepton flavor conservation.
Life
He was the first non-Briti ...
he was one of
The Martians.
Lax also received an Honorary Doctorate from
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
in 1990.
The CDC 6600 incident
In 1970, as part of an anti-war protest, the
Transcendental Students took hostage a
CDC 6600
The CDC 6600 was the flagship of the 6000 series of mainframe computer systems manufactured by Control Data Corporation. Generally considered to be the first successful supercomputer, it outperformed the industry's prior recordholder, the IBM ...
super computer at
NYU's Courant Institute
The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU), and is among the most prestigious mathematics schools and mathematical sciences research cente ...
which Lax had been instrumental in acquiring; the students demanded $100,000 in ransom () to provide bail for a member of the
Black Panthers. Some of the students present attempted to destroy the computer with incendiary devices, but Lax and colleagues managed to disable the devices and save the machine.
Books
* ''Calculus with Applications and Computing'', with S. Burstein and A. Lax, Springer-Verlag, New York (1979).
* ''Complex Proofs of Real Theorems'', with Lawrence Zalcman, University Lecture Series, 2012; 90 pp; softcover, Volume: 58,
* ''Decay of Solutions of Systems of Nonlinear Hyperbolic Conservation Laws'', with
J. Glimm, American Mathematical Society (1970).
*
* ''Functional Analysis'', Wiley-Interscience, New York (2002)
* ''Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations'', American Mathematical Society/Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (2006).
* ''Hyperbolic Systems of Conservation Laws and the Mathematical Theory of Shock Waves'', Society for Industrial Mathematics (1987).
* ''Linear Algebra and Its Applications'', 2nd ed.,
Wiley-Interscience
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
, New York (2007).
* ''Mathematical Aspects of Production and Distribution of Energy''
* ''Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations in Applied Science''
* ''Recent Advances in Partial Differential Equations''
* ''Recent Mathematical Methods in Nonlinear Wave Propagation'', with G. Boillat, C. M. Dafermos, T.-P. Liu, and T. Ruggeri, Springer (1996).
* ''Scattering Theory'', with
R. S. Phillips,
Academic Press
Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier.
Academic Press publishes reference ...
(1989), .
* ''Scattering Theory for Automorphic Functions'' with R. S. Phillips, Princeton Univ. Press (2001).
*
*
See also
*
Babuška–Lax–Milgram theorem In mathematics, the Babuška–Lax–Milgram theorem is a generalization of the famous Lax–Milgram theorem, which gives conditions under which a bilinear form can be "inverted" to show the existence and uniqueness of a weak solution to a given ...
*
Lions–Lax–Milgram theorem
In mathematics, the Lions–Lax–Milgram theorem (or simply Lions's theorem) is a result in functional analysis with applications in the study of partial differential equations. It is a generalization of the famous Lax–Milgram theorem, which ...
*
The Martians (scientists)
"The Martians" ( hu, "A marslakók") is a term used to refer to a group of prominent Hungarian scientists (mostly, but not exclusively, physicists and mathematicians) of Jewish descent who emigrated from Europe to the United States in the early ha ...
Notes
External links
2016 Video Interview with Peter Lax by Atomic Heritage FoundationVoices of the Manhattan Project
*
*
Elements from his contributions to mathematics Popularised presentation of Peter Lax by
Helge Holden, published on the Abel Prize website.
Abel Prize press release and biography*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lax, Peter
Living people
1926 births
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Abel Prize laureates
20th-century American mathematicians
20th-century Hungarian mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
21st-century Hungarian mathematicians
Hungarian emigrants to the United States
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism
Hungarian Jews
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
National Medal of Science laureates
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences alumni
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences faculty
Numerical analysts
Stuyvesant High School alumni
Wolf Prize in Mathematics laureates
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Fluid dynamicists
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Presidents of the American Mathematical Society
Recipients of the Lomonosov Gold Medal
PDE theorists
Textbook writers
Mathematicians from New York (state)
United States Army personnel of World War II
Members of the American Philosophical Society