Masatoşi Gündüz İkeda (25 February 1926 – 9 February 2003), was a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese-born Turkish

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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

known for his contributions to the field of

algebraic number theory Algebraic number theory is a branch of number theory that uses the techniques of abstract algebra to study the integers, rational numbers, and their generalizations. Number-theoretic questions are expressed in terms of properties of algebraic ob ...

Early years

Ikeda was born on 25 February 1926 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, to Junzo Ikeda, head of the statistics department of an insurance company, and his wife Yaeko Ikeda. He was the youngest child with a brother and two sisters. He grew up reading mathematics books belonging to his father. During his school years, he bought himself used books about mathematics and the life story of mathematicians. He was very impressed by the French mathematician

Évariste Galois Évariste Galois (; ; 25 October 1811 – 31 May 1832) was a French mathematician and political activist. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by Nth root, ...

(1811–1832).

Academic career

Ikeda graduated from the mathematics department of

Osaka University The , abbreviated as UOsaka or , is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university in Osaka, Japan. The university traces its roots back to Edo period, Edo-era institutions Tekijuku (1838) and Kaitokudō, Kaitokudo (1724), ...

in 1948. He received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree with his thesis "''On Absolutely Segregated Algebras''", written in 1953 under the direction of

Kenjiro Shoda Kenjiro Shoda ( Japanese: 正田建次郎 ''Shōda Kenjirō''; February 25, 1902 – March 20, 1977) was a Japanese mathematician. Early life and career Kenjiro Shoda was born on February 25, 1902, in Tatebayashi, Gunma to a wealthy famil ...

. He was appointed

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 1955. He pursued scientific research at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

in Germany, under the supervision of

Helmut Hasse Helmut Hasse (; 25 August 1898 – 26 December 1979) was a German mathematician working in algebraic number theory, known for fundamental contributions to class field theory, the application of ''p''-adic numbers to local class field theory and ...

(1898–1979) between 1957 and 1959. On a suggestion from Hasse, he went to Turkey in 1960 and landed at

Ege University Ege University or Aegean University () is a public research university in Bornova, İzmir. It was founded in 1955 with the faculties of Medicine and Agriculture. It is the first university to start courses in İzmir and the fourth oldest unive ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. In 1961, he was appointed a foreigner specialist in the Faculty of Science at the same university. In 1964, Ikeda married Turkish

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

Emel Ardor, whom he met and followed to Turkey. He was naturalized, converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and adopted the Turkish name ''Gündüz''. He became associate professor in 1965 and a full professor in 1966. In 1968, with permission of the university, he went to the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...

(METU) in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

as a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

for one year. However, following the end of his term, he was offered a permanent post as a full professor, which he accepted upon the proposal of the mathematician Cahit Arf, whom he had known since his early years in Turkey. From time to time, Ikeda was invited as a visiting professor to various universities such as the University of Hamburg (1966),

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

, California (1971), and Yarmouk University in

Irbid Irbid (), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of Irbid Governorate. It has the second-largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a ...

, Jordan (1984, 1985–86). In 1976, Ikeda carried out research work at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. In 1976, Ikeda went to

Hacettepe University Hacettepe University () is a public research university in Ankara, Turkey. It was established on 8 July 1967. It is ranked first among the Turkish universities by University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2021. The university has two main c ...

in Ankara, where he chaired the mathematics department until 1978, before he returned to METU. He retired in 1992 at METU. His scientific devotion was in

Galois theory In mathematics, Galois theory, originally introduced by Évariste Galois, provides a connection between field (mathematics), field theory and group theory. This connection, the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, allows reducing certain problems ...

. Among the research institutions Ikeda served were TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center and Turkish National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology. Finally, he worked at the Feza Gürsey Basic Sciences Research Center in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Ikeda was a member of the Basic Sciences Board at the

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies, support and conduct research and development, and to ...

(TÜBİTAK), and served as the head of the Mathematic Research Unit at the METU.

Family life and death

Ikeda died on 9 February 2003, in Ankara. Following a religious funeral service held on 12 February at

Kocatepe Mosque The Kocatepe Mosque () is the largest mosque in Ankara, Turkey. It was built between 1967 and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kızılay, and its size and prominent situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost anywhere in central ...

, he was laid to rest at the

Karşıyaka Cemetery The Karşıyaka Cemetery () is a modern burial ground located at Karşıyaka neighborhood in Yenimahalle district of Ankara Province, Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West ...

. He was the father of two sons, both born in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Recognition

In 1979, Ikeda was honored with the TÜBİTAK Science Award. The Mathematics Foundation of Turkey established the "Masatoshi Gündüz İkeda Research Award" in Ikeda's memory.

References

External links