Jean-Paul Pier (July 5, 1933 – December 14, 2016) was a Luxembourgish mathematician, specializing in harmonic analysis and the history of mathematics, particularly mathematical analysis in the 20th century.

Jean-Paul Pier
Jean-Paul Pier at the Centre universitaire de Luxembourg in 1980
Born
Jean-Paul Pier

(1933-07-05)July 5, 1933[2]
DiedDecember 14, 2016(2016-12-14) (aged 83)[2]
Bettembourg, Luxembourg
AwardsGrand prix en sciences mathématiques de l'Institut grand-ducal (2011)[1]
Scientific career
InstitutionsCentre universitaire de Luxembourg, precursor to the Université du Luxembourg
Université catholique de Louvain

Education and career

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Jean-Paul Pier was a graduate student in Luxembourg and at the universities of Paris and Nancy. He earned a University of Luxembourg doctorate in mathematical sciences and a French doctorate in pure mathematics. He also spent six months at the Grenoble Nuclear Research Center (1961) and a year at the University of Oregon (1966-1967).

He taught mathematics at the Lycée de Garçons in Esch-sur-Alzette from 1956 to 1980. In 1971 he created the Séminaire de mathématiques[3] at the Centre universitaire de Luxembourg (now the University of Luxembourg). He was a professor at the Centre from its creation in 1974 until 1998, when he retired as professor emeritus.[4]

Pier was primarily responsible for the creation in January 1989 of the Luxembourg Mathematical Society,[5] of which he was president from 1989 to 1993 and again from 1995 to 1998. He was during the academic year 1994–1995 a visiting professor at the Université catholique de Louvain.

Pier was the editor of two scholarly anthologies, which are standard works on the history of 20th-century mathematics. He organized several colloquia and conferences in Luxembourg. He was active internationally in various scientific bodies, including NATO Science for Peace and Security and UNESCO.

Selected publications

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  • Amenable locally compact groups, Wiley, 1984.
  • Amenable Banach algebras, Longman, 1988.[6]
  • L'Analyse harmonique. Son développement historique, Masson, 1990.
  • Histoire de l'intégration, vingt-cinq siècles de mathématiques, Masson, 1996.
  • Mathematical Analysis during the 20th century, Oxford University Press, 2001[7]
  • Mathématiques entre savoir et connaissance, Vuibert, 2006.
  • Development of Mathematics 1900-1950, edited by Jean-Paul Pier, Birkhäuser, 1994.[8]
  • Development of Mathematics 1950-2000, edited by Jean-Paul Pier, Birkhäuser, 2000.[9][10]
  • Gabriel Lippmann. Commémoration par la section des sciences naturelles, physiques et mathématiques de l’Institut grand-ducal de Luxembourg du 150e anniversaire du savant né au Luxembourg lauréat du prix Nobel en 1908, J.-P. Pier et J. A. Massard, éditeurs, 1997.
  • Le Choix de la parole, Lethielleux/DDB, 2009.

References

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  1. ^ "Attribution du grand prix de mathématiques de l'Institut". Archived from the original on 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  2. ^ a b Système universitaire de documentation
  3. ^ Séminaire de mathématiques de l'université du Luxembourg
  4. ^ "The Luxembourg Mathematical Society". MacTutor History of Mathematics.
  5. ^ "Luxembourg Mathematical Society (about us)". math.uni.lu. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  6. ^ Sinclair, Allan M. (1990). "Book Review: Amenable Banach algebras". Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. 22: 145–149. doi:10.1090/S0273-0979-1990-15865-3.
  7. ^ Abbott, Steve (2003). "Review of Mathematical analysis during the 20th century, by Jean-Paul Pier". The Mathematical Gazette. 87 (509): 392–393. doi:10.1017/S0025557200173334. ISSN 0025-5572.
  8. ^ Gray, Jeremy (1996). "Review of Development of Mathematics, 1900–1950 edited by Jean-Paul Pier" (PDF). Historia Mathematica. 23 (4): 437–440. doi:10.1006/hmat.1996.0041.
  9. ^ Abbott, Steve (2001). "Review of Development of Mathematics 1950-2000". The Mathematical Gazette. 85 (503): 356. doi:10.2307/3622059. JSTOR 3622059.
  10. ^ Mazzotti, Massimo (2002). "Review of Development of Mathematics 1950-2000". British Journal for the History of Science. 35 (125): 245–246.
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