Kossuth Prize
2 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1948) Winner
-
Edition 5 (1952) Winner
Pál Turán
パール・トゥラーン
Pal Turan
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1910-08-18 （Budapest, Austria-Hungary）
- Died
- 1976-09-26 （Budapest, Hungarian People's Republic） age 66
- Nationality
- Hungary
- Languages
- Hungarian, English
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Budapest (birth and main residence) → Labour camps (Transylvania, during WWII)
Career
- Occupations
- Mathematician, Professor
- Active Years
- 1933-1976
- Affiliations
- Eötvös Loránd University, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, János Bolyai Mathematical Society (founder and president)
- Memberships
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences, János Bolyai Mathematical Society, Polish Mathematical Society, American Mathematical Society, Austrian Mathematical Society
- Influenced By
- Lipót Fejér, Paul Erdős (collaborator)
- Influenced
- László Babai, János Pintz, Peter Szüsz, Miklós Simonovits
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eötvös Loránd University | — | Mathematics | PhD | 1928–1935 | Hungary |
Eötvös Loránd University
Mathematics
Degree:
PhD
Period:
1928–1935
Year of Graduation:
1935
Country:
Hungary
Doctoral advisor: Lipót Fejér. Received a teaching degree in 1933 and PhD in 1935.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Kossuth Prize | — | — | Hungary (state/cultural) | 受賞 |
| 1952 | Kossuth Prize | — | — | Hungary (state/cultural) | 受賞 |
| 1970 | ICM Invited Speaker | — | — | International Congress of Mathematicians | 招待講演 |
| 1975 | Tibor Szele Prize | — | — | János Bolyai Mathematical Society | 受賞 |
| 1948 | Elected corresponding member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences | — | — | Hungarian Academy of Sciences | 選出 |
| 1953 | Elected ordinary member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences | — | — | Hungarian Academy of Sciences | 選出 |
Kossuth Prize
1948
Organization:
Hungary (state/cultural)
Result:
受賞
Kossuth Prize
1952
Organization:
Hungary (state/cultural)
Result:
受賞
ICM Invited Speaker
1970
Organization:
International Congress of Mathematicians
Result:
招待講演
Tibor Szele Prize
1975
Organization:
János Bolyai Mathematical Society
Result:
受賞
Elected corresponding member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
1948
Organization:
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Result:
選出
Elected ordinary member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
1953
Organization:
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Result:
選出
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
On a new method of analysis and its applications
1984 Mathematics (monograph) 584 pagesA collection centered on Turán's power sum method, systematizing analytic techniques and their applications to number theory and analysis, with numerous examples and applications.
Number theoryAnalysisPower sum methodZero-counting estimates
Number Theory (edited)
1970 Mathematics (edited volume)An edited volume on number theory compiled by Turán, containing contributions related to his work and the power sum method.
Number theoryProbabilistic number theoryAnalytic methods
Turán's theorem (extremal graph theory)
1941 Mathematics (graph theory)A fundamental result giving an upper bound on the number of edges in a graph that does not contain the complete graph Kr as a subgraph; foundational for extremal graph theory.
Graph theoryExtremal combinatoricsCombinatorial optimization
Bibliography
- Ed. by P. Turán, 'Number Theory' (1970)
- Paul Turán, 'On a new method of analysis and its applications' (eds. Hálasz, Pintz, 1984)
- Erdős, Paul (ed.), 'Collected Papers of Paul Turán. Vol. 1–3.' (1990)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, rigorous, problem-solving oriented expositions
- Recurring Motifs
- Distribution of primes and irregularities (prime number race)Sieve methods (Turán sieve)Extremal problems in graph theoryInequalities and estimate techniques
Health
-
Leukemia1970年頃–1976年Diagnosis around 1970 was kept from him by his wife; he continued working until his death. Some works remained unfinished due to illness.
Legacy
Turán is regarded as a founder of extremal graph theory, and his name is attached to many concepts such as Turán's theorem, the Turán sieve and Turán numbers. He developed methods that bridged number theory, analysis, and graph theory, influencing many subsequent researchers.
Academic Societies
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences
- János Bolyai Mathematical Society
- Polish Mathematical Society
- American Mathematical Society
- Austrian Mathematical Society
Archives
- Rényi Institute archives (Budapest)
- Eötvös Loránd University archives (Budapest)
In Popular Culture
- Turán's theorem and the Turán graph are standard topics in graph theory textbooks and courses.
- There are memorial lectures named after Turán (Paul Turán memorial lectures).
Quotes
-
In 1940–1941 he created the area of extremal problems in graph theory.
Source: Paul Erdős (reminiscence) (1980) -
He recalled that the only way he could keep his sanity in the camps was through mathematics, solving problems in his head.
Source: Paul Turán recollection / Journal of Graph Theory (1977) (1977)
Trivia
- He showed outstanding mathematical ability from his late teens and contributed actively to mathematical journals as a student.
- There is an anecdote that he swam across the Danube around his 50th birthday.
- He collaborated with Paul Erdős for 46 years, producing 28 joint papers.