Rudolf Gorenflo (31 July 1930 – 20 October 2017) was a German

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 ...

Biography

Gorenflo was born on July 31, 1930, in Friedrichstal,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. From 1950 to 1956 he attended Karlsruhe Institute of Technology from which he received his diploma in mathematics. From 1957 to 1961 he became a scientific assistant there and for a year later worked at Standard Electric Lorenz Company. From 1962 to 1970 he worked at the

Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (german: Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, IPP) is a physics institute investigating the physical foundations of a fusion power plant. The IPP is an institute of the Max Planck Society, part of th ...

, at Garching not too far away from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. He was a resident in mathematics at the Technical University in Aachen in 1970 and a year later became a professor there. In 1972 he was invited as a guest professor to the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

and only by October 1973 became a full-time professor at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

. In 1995 he became a professor 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 ...

and by October 1998 returned to Free University as

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 ...

. During his life he collaborated with scientists from China,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Japan, former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Academic work

As of 2013, he had published over 250

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

ed articles, one of which has over 1800 citations. His works have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Vibration and Control and various

Journal of Physics ''Journal of Physics'' is a peer reviewed scientific journal series; it consists of the following journals * '' Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical'' * '' Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics'' * '' Journal of ...

journals.

References

1930 births 2017 deaths Academic staff of the Free University of Berlin 20th-century German mathematicians Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of RWTH Aachen University Academic staff of the University of Tokyo People from Karlsruhe (district) {{Germany-mathematician-stub