Tonny Albert Springer (13 February 1926 – 7 December 2011) was a

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 ...

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

who worked on linear algebraic groups, Hecke algebras,

complex reflection group In mathematics, a complex reflection group is a finite group acting on a finite-dimensional complex vector space that is generated by complex reflections: non-trivial elements that fix a complex hyperplane pointwise. Complex reflection groups arise ...

s, and who introduced Springer representations and the Springer resolution. Springer began his undergraduate studies in 1945 at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

and remained there for his graduate work in mathematics, earning his PhD in 1951 under

Hendrik Kloosterman Hendrik Douwe Kloosterman (9 April 1900 – 6 May 1968) was a Dutch mathematician, known for his work in number theory (in particular, for introducing Kloosterman sums) and in representation theory. After completing his master's degree at Leiden ...

with thesis ''Over symplectische Transformaties''. As a postdoc Springer spent the academic year 1951/1952 at the University of Nancy and then returned to Leiden University, where he was employed until 1955. In 1955 he accepted a lectureship at

, where he became professor ordinarius in 1959 and continued in that position until 1991 when he retired as professor emeritus. Springer's visiting professorships included many institutions: the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

(1963), 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 scholar ...

(1961/1962, 1969, 1983), IHES (1964, 1973, 1975, 1983), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1968, 1980),

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(1965/1966), the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, the

University of Rome Tor Vergata Tor Vergata University of Rome, also known as the University of Rome II ( it, Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata"), is a public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. Located in the southeastern suburb of Rome, the ...

, the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

, the

Erwin Schrödinger Institute Erwin may refer to: People Given name * Erwin Chargaff (1905–2002), Austrian biochemist * Erwin Dold (1919–2012), German concentration camp commandant in World War 2 * Erwin Hauer (1926–2017), Austrian-born American sculptor * Egon Erwin Kis ...

in Vienna, and the

University of Paris VI Pierre and Marie Curie University (french: link=no, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, UPMC), also known as Paris 6, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the La ...

. In 1964 Springer was elected to the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

. In 2006 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

he 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." ...

with lecture on ''Some results on compactifications of semisimple groups''. (At the 1962 ICM in Stockholm he made a short contribution ''Twisted composition algebras'', but was not an invited speaker.)

Publications

* Reprint of the 1973 edition. * * ; *

References

ProfileSpringer's
home page. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, T. A. 1926 births 2011 deaths Dutch mathematicians Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars Leiden University alumni Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Academic staff of Utrecht University Scientists from The Hague