C. P. Ramanujam

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Srinivasa Ramanujan.

C. P. Ramanujam
Born9 January 1938
Madras, Madras Presidency, British India
Died27 October 1974 (age 36)
Bangalore, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materLoyola College, Madras
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
AwardsFellow, Indian Academy of Sciences
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsTata Institute of Fundamental Research
Doctoral advisorK. G. Ramanathan

Chakravarthi Padmanabhan Ramanujam (9 January 1938 – 27 October 1974) was an Indian mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and algebraic geometry. He was elected a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1973.

Like his namesake

Srinivasa Ramanujan, Ramanujam also had a very short life.[1]

As David Mumford put it, Ramanujam felt that the spirit of mathematics demanded of him not merely routine developments but the right theorem on any given topic. "He wanted mathematics to be beautiful and to be clear and simple. He was sometimes tormented by the difficulty of these high standards, but in retrospect, it is clear to us how often he succeeded in adding to our knowledge, results both new, beautiful and with a genuinely original stamp".[2]

Early life and education

Ramanujam was born to a

Calcutta as he had passed the entrance exam meritoriously.[3]

Career

Ramanujam set out for

TIFR together in 1957. At the Tata Institute there was a stream of first-rate visiting mathematicians from all over the world. It was a tradition for some graduate student to write up the notes of each course of lectures. Accordingly, Ramanujam wrote up in his first year, the notes of Max Deuring's lectures on Algebraic functions of one variable. It was a nontrivial effort and the notes were written clearly and were well received. The analytical mind was much in evidence in this effort as he could simplify and extend the notes within a short time period. "He could reduce difficult solutions to be simple and elegant due to his deep knowledge of the subject matter" states Ramanan. "Max Deuring's lectures gave him a taste for algebraic number theory. He studied not only algebraic geometry and analytic number theory
of which he displayed a deep knowledge but he became an expert in several other allied subjects as well".

On the suggestion of his

Number Theory
, the Institute promoted him to associate professor. He protested against this promotion as 'undeserved', and had to be persuaded to accept the position. He proceeded to write his thesis in 1966 and took his doctoral examination in 1967. Dr. Siegel, who was one of the examiners, was highly impressed with the young man's depth of knowledge and his great mathematical abilities.

Ramanujam was a scribe for

TIFR around 1967. Mumford wrote in the preface to his book that the notes improved upon his work and that his current work on abelian varieties
was a joint effort between him and Ramanujam. A little-known fact is that during this time he started teaching himself German, Italian, Russian and French so that he could study mathematical works in their original form. His personal library contained quite a few non-English mathematical works.

Illness and death

Between 1964 and 1968, he was making great strides in number theory and his contacts with

TIFR
.

He quit his post at

TIFR but the institute would not take it seriously. Around this time, Mumford invited him to Warwick as a visiting professor during the algebraic geometry year. Mumford writes that he spent many delightful evenings with Ramanujam and that his presence contributed importantly to the success of the algebraic geometry year. A famous paper written during this time, by Michael Artin and David Mumford acknowledges Ramanujam's suggestions and help. He also had a short tenure at Turin where he was widely appreciated and accepted. Just after his death a commemorative hall was named after him in the former Istituto di Matematica (Institute of Mathematics) of the university of Genoa
.

Back in India after his year at the University of Warwick, Ramanujam requested for a professorship at the Tata Institute but to be made tenable in their Bangalore campus. The Tata Institute had an applied mathematics wing in Bangalore. Although Ramanjuam had nothing to do with this area, the Institute, wishing him to continue his research, made a special arrangement by which he could stay and work there. By this time, he was deeply affected and depressed by his illness. He was put in charge of a new branch dealing with applied mathematics. He settled down in Bangalore, but again in the depths of depression caused by his illness, he tried to leave the Institute and obtain a university teaching post. During one of the attacks, he tried to take his life, but was rescued in time. However, late one evening on 27 October 1974, after a lively discussion with a visiting foreign professor he took his life with an overdose of barbiturates.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ C. P. Ramanujam (1938-1974), Famous Indian Mathematician, indiaonline.in
  2. ^ "The work of C. P. Ramanujam in Algebraic Geometry" by D. Mumford, 1978
  3. ^ "Chidambaram Padmanabhan Ramanujam (1938-1974)". www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C._P._Ramanujam&oldid=1181845058"