Born in Michigan, Professor Smale received his Ph.D. degree from the
University of Michigan in 1957, and within four years became a full
Professor at Columbia University. In 1964, he was named Professor at the
University of California, Berkeley and held the post for 30 years before
joining City University as a Distinguished University Professor.
Professor Smale has made significant contributions to the fields of
dynamical systems, geometry, econometrics, operational research, topology,
and the mathematical theory of computer science. These contributions have
resulted in a number of academic awards and achievements including his
holding of the prestigious Alfred Sloan Research Fellowship from 1960-62.
In 1966, Professor Smale won a Fields Medal- an international medal
awarded once every four years for outstanding discoveries in mathematics.
This honor is comparable to a Nobel Prize and is traditionally awarded to
mathematicians under 40 years of age. Important honors bestowed upon
Professor Smale during his distinguished academic career include the 1965
Veblen Prize for Geometry, awarded every five years by the American
Mathematical Society; in 1988, the Chauvenet Prize by the Mathematical
Association of America; and in 1989, the Von Neumann Award by the Society
for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Professor Smale is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is recognized
internationally in many fields of Mathematics, and has been invited as
Visiting Professor to such esteemed institutions as College de France,
Paris (Spring 1962), University of Paris, Orsay (Fall 1972-73), Yale
University (Fall 1974) and Columbia University (Fall 1987).
Personal Homepage:
math.berkeley.edu/~smale
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