Nagle Lecture Series
2016 Nagle Lecture
Ken Ono
Ramanujan: The Inspirational Story and a Glimpse of his Mathematics
March 10, 2016
Description of the Talk
Srinivasa Ramanujan is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of mathematics. He was a self-trained amateur mathematician whose ideas befuddled the accumulated wisdom of western European mathematicians in the early 20th century. His legacy has played a central role in the development of many of the deepest subjects in arithmetic geometry and number theory. Ramanujan tragically died at the early age of 32.
Ramanujan's story will be retold as a major Hollywood movie to be released in 2016 with Dev Patel (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) playing Ramanujan and Jeremy Irons playing G. H. Hardy, Ramanujan's mentor. Professor Ono spent much of this past year working as the math consultant on the film, titled “The Man Who Knew Infinity.” His involvement included preproduction and on-location filming. In his talk he will discuss the mathematical legacy of Ramanujan and also tell stories about the filming of “The Man Who Knew Infinity.”
Description of the Speaker
Ken Ono received his Ph.D from UCLA in 1993. He is presently the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Emory University. He has authored over 150 research papers, as well as 5 books. His work includes ground-breaking results in number theory. He has advised 22 doctoral students to date and sits on the editorial boards of 16 journals. He has received numerous awards and honors, including a Sloan Fellowship, a Presidential Early Career Award from President Clinton, a Packard Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, and he is a member of the US National Committee for Mathematics at the US National Academy of Sciences. In addition to his research accomplishments, Ono is also a master lecturer and teacher as evidenced by his receipt of the 2005 National Science Foundation Director's Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award. He has recently been named the 2016-2017 George Polya Distinguished Lecturer by the Mathematical Association of America.
The Organizing Committee of the Nagle Lecture Series thanks the USF Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the College of Arts and Sciences for sponsoring this event.