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Paul Olum (August 16, 1918 – January 19, 2001) was an American mathematician (
algebraic topology Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariants that classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism, though usually most classify ...
), professor of mathematics, and university administrator.


Early years

Born in
Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflu ...
to a father who was a Russian Jew who immigrated at age of nine to escape persecution, Olum took an interest in mathematics at an early age. He graduated summa cum laude from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
in 1940. In 1942 he married Vivian Goldstein, completed an MA in physics at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, and joined the scientific staff of 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 ...
. During his time at Los Alamos, Olum was among the Los Alamos scientists who questioned the implications of the
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
, and after its use against Japan, he became a lifelong advocate for world peace and for nuclear arms control. Reportedly, one reason he switched from physics to mathematics as his field was that compared to his office mate, future Nobel laureate
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfl ...
, Olum did not think he was good at physics. He returned to Harvard after the war to complete his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1947 under
Hassler Whitney Hassler Whitney (March 23, 1907 – May 10, 1989) was an American mathematician. He was one of the founders of singularity theory, and did foundational work in manifolds, embeddings, immersions, characteristic classes, and geometric integratio ...
as his thesis advisor. Among his close friends was Feynman, who wrote in his autobiography of Paul's intelligence. In one anecdote, Feynman told of an experience at Los Alamos when he had claimed to be able to take any problem that could be stated in ten seconds and find an answer to within ten percent in no more than sixty seconds. When Feynman made this challenge to Olum, he quickly responded, “Find the tangent of 10 to the 100th.”


Cornell

Following a postdoctoral year 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 schola ...
, Olum joined the
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
faculty in 1949. Over the next 25 years at Cornell, Olum rose to the rank of professor, served in various administrative roles, and spent time as a visiting faculty member at the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
,
Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...
,
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 conside ...
, and the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
, and also returned as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study. As a mathematician, Olum was widely respected for his research in
algebraic topology Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariants that classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism, though usually most classify ...
. He made significant contributions in the area of
obstruction theory In mathematics, obstruction theory is a name given to two different mathematical theories, both of which yield cohomological invariants. In the original work of Stiefel and Whitney, characteristic classes were defined as obstructions to the ex ...
. His Ph.D. students include Martin Arkowitz, Robert Lewis, Jean-Pierre Meyer, and Norman Stein. In 1962 Olum initiated the Cornell Topology Festival, an annual regional mathematics conference. From 1963 to 1966, Olum served as Mathematics Department chair, and recruited a number of talented faculty. Olum advocated the abolition of the House Committee on Unamerican Activities, was an early critic of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and sought to remove the
Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
from the Cornell campus. Olum assisted in the establishment of Cornell's Women's Studies Program in 1972. Following the
Willard Straight Hall Willard Straight Hall is the student union building on the central campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is located on Campus Road, adjacent to the Ho Plaza and Cornell Health. Background The construction of Willard Straight Hall ...
Takeover in 1969, Olum chaired a committee to propose a major overhaul of Cornell's governance, including its Board of Trustees. Olum's relationship with his fellow Los Alamos physicist
Dale Corson Dale Raymond Corson (April 5, 1914 – March 31, 2012) was the eighth president of Cornell University. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1914, Corson received a B.A. degree from the College of Emporia in 1934, his M.A. degree from the University ...
, who had just become Cornell's President, assisted in this difficult task. Olum led the group which convinced the Trustees to adopt the plan, included a student-faculty-employee University Senate and the addition of Trustees elected by students and by that Senate. In 1972, Olum was the first Faculty Trustee elected by Cornell students — the only such position in the nation at that time.


University of Texas

Olum served as Dean of the
University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences The College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin offers 10 Bachelor of Arts majors, 42 Bachelor of Science majors, and 20 graduate programs to more than 11,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students. The college employs ov ...
from 1974 through 1976. Those were turbulent years, as President Stephen Spurr, who had hired Olum, was removed by the Board of Regents in fall 1974, and replaced by
Lorene Rogers Lorene Lane Rogers (April 3, 1914 – January 11, 2009) was an American biochemist and educator who served as the 21st President of the University of Texas at Austin. She has been described as the first woman in the United States to lead a m ...
. All administrators were placed in a difficult role while students protested Rogers' appointment and the faculty conducted a boycott of any faculty meetings chaired by Rogers.


University of Oregon

In 1976 Olum was named provost at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...
. Despite an economic recession and budget cuts, Olum worked to improve Oregon's academic standing, serving as President from 1980 to 1989. While Olum was President, Oregon started 20 new research institutes and academic programs, built a new $34.6 million science complex—“the most significant construction program in the university’s history”—and helped develop the University's Riverfront Research Park. He also oversaw construction of a $27 million remodeling of Oregon's library. While President, Olum also supported the fight against apartheid in South Africa and advocated nuclear disarmament.History: Office of the President – University of Oregon
Retrieved 2010-04-28.
In 1987, the Executive Committee of State Board of Education required Olum to retire by June 30, 1989. Despite extensive faculty and student protest, this decision stood, and Olum left office with Oregon a much stronger institution. The University named the Paul Olum Atrium and a mathematics research professorship in his honor. The University's child development center is named in honor of his wife, Vivian. In 1990, following his retirement from the University of Oregon, Olum moved to
Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
, and lived with Margarita Papandreou. In 1996, he lived in
Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by ...
with his son, Ken Olum.


References


External links


University of Texas Memorial ResolutionUniversity of Oregon Presidential HistoryOregon State Legislature Memorial ResolutionPaul Olum
at the
Mathematics Genealogy Project The Mathematics Genealogy Project (MGP) is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians.. By 31 December 2021, it contained information on 274,575 mathematical scientists who contributed to research-level mathematics. For a ty ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Olum, Paul 1918 births 2001 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent Manhattan Project people Presidents of the University of Oregon Cornell University faculty Princeton University alumni Harvard University alumni 20th-century American mathematicians Topologists People from Binghamton, New York Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel Mathematicians from New York (state) 20th-century American academics