Biography
Jean-Pierre Serre's parents, Jean Serre and Adèle Diet, were some pharmacists. His mother Adèle had been a drugstore student astatine the University of Montpellier and she took a calculus people (just for fun, she said, since she liked mathematics). In 1932 Jean-Pierre began his superior schoolhouse acquisition astatine the École de Vauvert. It was astatine the property of 7 aliases 8 that he began to bask doing mathematics. In 1937 he moved from the École de Vauvert to study astatine the Lycée Alphonse-Daudet successful Nîmes. His mother had kept the calculus books that she had bought erstwhile she took the mathematics people astatine the University of Montpellier and Jean-Pierre began to study mathematics from these books [9]:-
When I was 14 aliases 15, I utilized to look astatine these books, and study them. This is really I learned astir derivatives, integrals, bid and specified (I did that successful a purely general mode - Euler's style truthful to speak: I did not like, and did not understand, epsilons and deltas.) At this clip mathematics wasn't the only taxable he enjoyed. Although he ne'er took overmuch liking successful physics, he enjoyed chemistry which was a taxable that his parents, being pharmacists, knew a batch about. In peculiar his begetter had a batch of chemistry books which Jean-Pierre publication erstwhile he was 15 aliases sixteen years old. In truth he enjoyed 1 of these books truthful overmuch that he kept a transcript of it - this was the book "Les colloïdes", Gauthier-Villars, 1922 by Jacques Duclaux (1877-1978). However, arsenic he went deeper into chemistry he became little enthusiastic astir the taxable and became much convinced that mathematics was the taxable for him. He said astir his clip astatine the Lycée Alphonse-Daudet successful Nîmes successful [9]:-
In precocious schoolhouse I utilized to do problems for much precocious classes. I was past successful a boarding location successful Nimes, staying pinch children older than I was, and they utilized to bully me. So to pacify them, I utilized to do their mathematics homework. It was arsenic bully a training arsenic any.
At the Lycée successful Nîmes successful the twelvemonth 1943-44 he had a bully mathematics coach who was nicknamed "Le Barbu" since he had a beard. He was [9]:-
... very clear, and strict; he demanded that each look and impervious beryllium written neatly.
He coached Serre for the Concours General successful mathematics which he sat successful 1944 and was placed first. Also successful 1944 he sat the Concours General successful physics but since he spent the full six-hour introspection utilizing an incorrect formula, he scored poorly. Serre was awarded his Bachelier ès sciences et ès lettres successful 1944 but remained astatine the Lycée until 1945 preparing to return the entranceway introspection to participate the École Normale Supérieure successful Paris. While astatine the Lycée [9]:-
I had nary thought 1 could make a surviving by being a mathematician. It was only later I discovered 1 could get paid for doing mathematics! What I thought astatine first was that I would go a precocious schoolhouse teacher: this looked earthy to me. Then, erstwhile I was 19, I took the title to participate the École Normale Superieure, and I succeeded. Once I was astatine "l'École", it became clear that it was not a precocious schoolhouse coach I wanted to be, but a investigation mathematician.
From 1945 to 1948 Serre studied astatine the École Normale Supérieure and was awarded his Agrégé des sciences mathematique successful 1948. At this clip he became the youngest personnel of the Bourbaki group of mathematicians. This group included those who had been progressive since the mid 1930s specified arsenic Henri Cartan, Claude Chevalley, Jean Delsarte, Jean Dieudonné and André Weil. Around the clip that Serre joined the Bourbaki group, others specified arsenic Roger Godement, Pierre Samuel and Jacques Dixmier besides joined. Serre joined Josiane Heulot (1922-2004) connected 10 August 1948; they had 1 child, a girl Claudine calved connected 29 November 1949. Josiane was an integrated chemist moving astatine the École Normale Supérieure de jeunes filles astatine Sèvres.
From 1948 to 1954 Serre held positions astatine the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique successful Paris, first arsenic attaché and past arsenic chargé de recherches. In 1948-49 he attended Henri Cartan's seminar which was connected algebraic topology and sheaf theory. Also attending Henri Cartan's seminar successful that twelvemonth were Claude Chevalley, Jean Delsarte, Jean Dieudonné, Roger Godement, Laurent Schwartz, and André Weil. One of Serre's chap students was Alexander Grothendieck and he besides attended the seminar. Grothendieck and Serre became friends astatine this time. Serre was advised by Henri Cartan but [18]:-
... Cartan did not propose investigation topics to his students: they had to find 1 themselves; aft that he would thief them. This is what happened to me. I recovered that Leray's mentation (about fibre spaces and their spectral sequence) could beryllium applied to galore much situations than was thought imaginable and that specified an hold could beryllium utilized to compute homotopy groups.
He was awarded his doctorate from the Sorbonne successful 1951 for his thesis Homologie singulière des espaces fibrés. Applications Ⓣ. In 1952 he went to Princeton wherever he lectured connected the results successful his thesis and besides connected CCC-theory which was the continuation of this work. While successful Princeton he attended the Artin-Tate seminar connected people section theory. Returning to Paris, he again attended the Henri Cartan seminar which, successful that year, was discussing functions of respective analyzable variables and Stein manifolds. The ideas he met successful this seminar motivated the guidance of his research. In 1953-54 he was maître de recherches astatine the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. In 1954 Serre went to the University of Nancy wherever he worked until 1956. From 1956 he held the chair of Algebra and Geometry successful the Collège de France until he retired successful 1994 erstwhile he became an honorary professor. He describes successful [16] his inaugural speech astatine the Collège de France:-
I was a young man, astir 30, erstwhile I arrived astatine the Collège. The inaugural speech was almost for illustration an oral introspection successful beforehand of professors, family, mathematician colleagues, journalists etc. I tried to hole it, but aft a period I only managed to constitute half a page. When the time of the speech came, it was rather a tense moment. I started by reference the half page I had prepared and past I improvised.
A fewer months later he was informed that inaugural lectures were published and he was asked to proviso a transcript. As the speech had been improvised he had nary transcript but tried to recreate it by giving an impromptu speech into a portion recorder and past giving the portion to a caput to type up. However, the caput said that the signaling was inaudible. Serre past gave up and his inaugural speech was ne'er published. This makes it unsocial arsenic each different inaugural speech astatine the Collège de France that has been published. He has besides spoken astir his school profession astatine the Collège de France (see for illustration [16]):-
Teaching astatine the Collège is some a marvellous and a challenging privilege. Marvellous because of the state of prime of subjects and the precocious level of the audience: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique researchers, visiting overseas academics, colleagues from Paris and Orsay - galore regulars who person been coming for 5, 10 aliases moreover 20 years. It is challenging too: caller lectures person to beryllium fixed each year, either connected one's ain investigation (which I prefer), aliases connected the investigation of others. Since a bid of lectures for a year's people is astir 20 hours, that's rather a lot.
His imperishable position successful the Collège de France allowed Serre to walk rather a batch of clip making investigation visits. In peculiar he spent clip astatine the Institute for Advanced Study astatine Princeton (in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1983, 1999) and astatine Harvard University (in 1957, 1964, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996). Here is simply a database of the universities wherever Serre delivered courses (in alphabetical order): Algiers (1965, 1966), Bonn (1976), CalTech (1997), Eugene (1998), Geneva (1999), Göttingen (1970), McGill (1967), Mexico (1956), Moscow (1961, 1984), Princeton (1952, 1999), Singapore (1985), U.C.L.A. (2001), Utrect (1974). Serre's early activity was connected spectral sequences. A spectral series is an algebraic building for illustration an nonstop sequence, but much difficult to describe. Serre did not invent spectral sequences, these were invented by the French mathematician Jean Leray. However, successful 1951, Serre applied spectral sequences to the study of the relations betwixt the homology groups of fibre, full abstraction and guidelines abstraction successful a fibration. This enabled him to observe basal connections betwixt the homology groups and homotopy groups of a abstraction and to beryllium important results connected the homotopy groups of spheres.
Serre's activity led to topologists realising the value of spectral sequences. The Serre spectral series provided a instrumentality to activity efficaciously pinch the homology of fiberings. For this activity connected spectral sequences and his activity processing analyzable adaptable mentation successful position of sheaves, Serre was awarded a Fields Medal astatine the International Congress of Mathematicians successful 1954. Serre's theorem led to accelerated advancement not only successful homotopy mentation but successful algebraic topology and homological algebra successful general. As an illustration of Serre's attack to attacking a problem, we quote from the question and reply [9]. Here Serre was answering a mobility astir the value of inspiration:-
I don't cognize what "inspiration" really means. Theorems, and theories, travel up successful funny ways. Sometimes, you are conscionable not satisfied pinch existing proofs, and you look for amended ones, which tin beryllium applied successful different situations. A emblematic illustration for maine was erstwhile I worked connected the Riemann-Roch theorem (circa 1953), which I viewed arsenic an "Euler-Poincaré" look (I did not cognize past that Kodaira-Spencer had had the aforesaid idea.) My first nonsubjective was to beryllium it for algebraic curves - a lawsuit which was known for astir a century! But I wanted a impervious successful a typical style; and erstwhile I managed to find it, I retrieve it did not return maine much than a infinitesimal aliases 2 to spell from location to the 2-dimensional lawsuit (which had conscionable been done by Kodaira). Six months later, the afloat consequence was established by Hirzebruch, and published successful his well-known Habilitation thesis. Quite often, you don't really effort to lick a circumstantial mobility by a head-on attack. Rather you person immoderate ideas successful mind, which you consciousness should beryllium useful, but you don't cognize precisely for what they are useful. So, you look around, and effort to use them. It's for illustration having a bunch of keys, and trying them connected respective doors.
Over galore years Serre has published galore highly influential texts covering a wide scope of mathematics. These texts, which show the topics Serre has worked on, are Homologie singulière des espaces fibrés Ⓣ (1951), Faisceaux algébriques cohérents Ⓣ (1955), Groupes d'algébriques et corps de classes Ⓣ (1959), Corps locaux Ⓣ (1962), Cohomologie galoisienne Ⓣ (1964), Algèbre Locale. Multiplicités Ⓣ (1965), Lie Algebras and Lie Groups (1965), Algèbres de Lie semi-simples complexes Ⓣ (1966), Abelian l-adic representations and elliptic curves (1968), Représentations linéaires des groupes finis Ⓣ (1968), Cours d'arithmétique Ⓣ (1970), Représentations linéaires des groupes finis Ⓣ (1971), Arbres, amalgames Ⓣ, SL2SL_{2}SL2 (1977), Lectures connected the Mordell-Weil theorem (1989), Topics successful Galois theory (1992), Exposés de Séminaires Ⓣ 1950-1999 (2001), Correspondance Grothendieck-Serre Ⓣ (2001), (with S Garibaldi and A Merkurjev) Cohomological Invariants successful Galois Cohomology (2003), and Lectures connected NX(p)N_{X}(p)NX(p) (2011). You tin spot immoderate extracts from reviews of these books astatine THIS LINK.
These books are outstanding and led to Serre being honoured. In 1995 he was awarded the Steele Prize for mathematical exposition and the citation for the grant sounds [2]:-
It is difficult to determine connected a azygous activity by a mathematician of Jean-Pierre Serre's stature which is astir deserving of the Steele Prize. Any 1 of Serre's galore different books mightiness person served arsenic the ground of this award. Each of his books is beautifully written, pinch a awesome woody of original worldly by the author, and everything smoothly polished. It would beryllium difficult to make immoderate important betterment connected his expositions; galore are the mundane modular references successful their areas, some for moving mathematicians and postgraduate students. Serre brings his full mathematical characteristic to carnivore connected the worldly of these books; they are live pinch the breadth of existent mathematics and are an illustration to each of really to constitute for effect, clarity, and impact.
The references [8] and [9] supply a fascinating position of Serre's views connected immoderate aspects of his profession up to 1985:-
Presently, the taxable which amuses maine astir is counting points connected algebraic curves complete finite fields. It is simply a benignant of applied mathematics: you effort to usage immoderate instrumentality successful algebraic geometry and number mentation that you cognize of, ... and you don't rather succeed!
The question and reply successful [8] and [9] besides provides a chance to analyse Serre's views connected mathematics. However, we take present to quote from [16] connected Serre's position connected applications of mathematics:-
As for the spot of mathematics successful narration to different sciences, mathematics tin beryllium seen arsenic a large storage afloat of shelves. Mathematicians put things connected the shelves and guarantee that they are true. They besides explicate really to usage them and really to reconstruct them. Other sciences travel and thief themselves from the shelves, mathematicians are not concerned pinch what they do pinch what they person taken. this metaphor is alternatively coarse, but it reflects the business good enough. (Of people 1 does not take to do mathematics conscionable for putting things connected shelves; 1 does mathematics for the nosy of it.) Here is simply a individual example. My wife, Josiane, was a master successful quantum chemistry. She needed linear representations of definite symmetry groups. The books she was moving pinch were not satisfactory; they were correct, but they utilized very clumsy notation. I wrote a matter that suited her needs, and past published it successful book form, arsenic 'Linear Representations of Finite Groups'. I frankincense did my work arsenic a mathematician (and arsenic a husband): putting things connected shelves.
In the question and reply [18] Serre speaks astir his hobbies. He loved stone climbing, skiing and array tennis. I [EFR] tin surely opportunity from individual acquisition what an fantabulous array tennis subordinate Serre was, for I've seen him playing astatine galore conferences that we some attended. I ever had the (very silly) thought: How tin personification who is truthful bully astatine mathematics beryllium truthful bully astatine array tennis! Other things that Serre enjoys are chess, reference books and the movies. He said he liked books [9]:-
... of each kinds, from Giono to Böll to Kawabata, including fairy tales and the Harry Potter series.
Serre has received galore awards. In summation to the Fields Medal successful 1954 he was elected an honorary personnel of the London Mathematical Society successful 1973, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London successful 1974. He has besides been made an Officer Légion d'Honneur and Commander Ordre National du Mérite. He has been elected to galore nationalist academies successful summation to the Royal Society, successful peculiar the academies of France (1977), the Netherlands (1978), the United States (1979), Sweden (1981), Russia (2003), Norway (2009), Turin (2010) and Taiwan (2010). He was awarded the Prix Peccot-Vimont by the Collège de France (1955), the Prix Francoeur by the Académie des Sciences (1957), the Prix Gaston Julia (1970), the Médaille Émile Picard by the Académie des Sciences (1971), the Prix Balzan (1985), the Gold Medal from the C.N.R.S. (1987), the Steele Prize, described above, from the American Mathematical Society (1995) and the Wolf Prize successful 2000. He has been awarded honorary degrees from the University of Cambridge successful 1978, the University of Stockholm successful 1980, the University of Glasgow successful 1983, the University of Athens successful 1996, Harvard University successful 1998, the University of Durham successful 2000, the University of London successful 2001, the University of Oslo successful 2002, the University of Oxford successful 2003, the University of Bucharest successful 2004, the University of Barcelona successful 2004, the University of Madrid successful 2006 and the University of McGill successful 2008. In June 2003 he was awarded the first Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters [6]:-
... for playing a awesome domiciled successful giving a number of mathematical topics their modern form, notably topology, algebraic geometry and the mentation of numbers.
The events surrounding this ceremonial are described successful respective articles. The pursuing is extracted from [18]:-
The events started successful agleam sunshine successful Oslo connected Sunday, 1 June 2003, pinch a elemental ceremonial astatine the Abel Monument successful Slottsparken. After Jens Erik Fenstad, chair of the Abel Board (organizer of the prize events), had fixed a short speech, the Abel laureate, Jean-Pierre Serre, laid a wreath astatine the monument. On 2 June the technological programme started successful Georg Sverdrup's house, the awesome caller room astatine the University of Oslo successful Blindern. ... Serre's speech was entitled "Prime numbers, equations and modular forms". He afloat lived up to his estimation arsenic a maestro expositor, lecturing successful the old-fashioned measurement pinch chalk connected the blackboard, and impressed everybody pinch a very clear position without notes. ... Later successful the afternoon, Jean-Pierre Serre received respective parties of journalists for interviews. On Tuesday greeting Serre and representatives of the Abel Committee and the Abel Board met the world press: 10 journalists from Norway, England, France, and Germany. On Tuesday day the prize was presented astatine a ceremony, pinch owed pomp and circumstance, astatine the University of Oslo. King Harald and Queen Sonja attended, and aft immoderate speeches the king presented the prize to Serre.
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