NicolaePopescu2 2009-06-20 14:00:52 2009-06-20 14:44:10 Biography abstract algebra sheaf theory valuation theory commutative ring algebraic function theory K-theory algebraic K-theory topological K-theory class-field theory $C_p$ $R[X_1 ... X_r]$ $p-adic$ measure Pierre Gabriel Abelian category theory category theory applications % this is the default PlanetPhysics preamble. \usepackage{amsmath, amssymb, amsfonts, amsthm, amscd, latexsym, enumerate} \usepackage{xypic, xspace} \usepackage[mathscr]{eucal} \usepackage[dvips]{graphicx} \usepackage[curve]{xy} % define commands here \theoremstyle{plain} \newtheorem{lemma}{Lemma}[section] \newtheorem{proposition}{Proposition}[section] \newtheorem{theorem}{Theorem}[section] \newtheorem{corollary}{Corollary}[section] \theoremstyle{definition} \newtheorem{definition}{Definition}[section] \newtheorem{example}{Example}[section] %\theoremstyle{remark} \newtheorem{remark}{Remark}[section] \newtheorem*{notation}{Notation} \newtheorem*{claim}{Claim} \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\ensuremath{\fnsymbol{footnote}}} \numberwithin{equation}{section} \newcommand{\Ad}{{\rm Ad}} \newcommand{\Aut}{{\rm Aut}} \newcommand{\Cl}{{\rm Cl}} \newcommand{\Co}{{\rm Co}} \newcommand{\DES}{{\rm DES}} \newcommand{\Diff}{{\rm Diff}} \newcommand{\Dom}{{\rm Dom}} \newcommand{\Hol}{{\rm Hol}} \newcommand{\Mon}{{\rm Mon}} \newcommand{\Hom}{{\rm Hom}} \newcommand{\Ker}{{\rm Ker}} \newcommand{\Ind}{{\rm Ind}} \newcommand{\IM}{{\rm Im}} \newcommand{\Is}{{\rm Is}} \newcommand{\ID}{{\rm id}} \newcommand{\grpL}{{\rm GL}} \newcommand{\Iso}{{\rm Iso}} \newcommand{\rO}{{\rm O}} \newcommand{\Sem}{{\rm Sem}} \newcommand{\SL}{{\rm Sl}} \newcommand{\St}{{\rm St}} \newcommand{\Sym}{{\rm Sym}} \newcommand{\Symb}{{\rm Symb}} \newcommand{\SU}{{\rm SU}} \newcommand{\Tor}{{\rm Tor}} \newcommand{\U}{{\rm U}} \newcommand{\A}{\mathcal A} \newcommand{\Ce}{\mathcal C} \newcommand{\D}{\mathcal D} \newcommand{\E}{\mathcal E} \newcommand{\F}{\mathcal F} %\newcommand{\grp}{\mathcal G} \renewcommand{\H}{\mathcal H} \renewcommand{\cL}{\mathcal L} \newcommand{\Q}{\mathcal Q} \newcommand{\R}{\mathcal R} \newcommand{\cS}{\mathcal S} \newcommand{\cU}{\mathcal U} \newcommand{\W}{\mathcal W} \newcommand{\bA}{\mathbb{A}} \newcommand{\bB}{\mathbb{B}} \newcommand{\bC}{\mathbb{C}} \newcommand{\bD}{\mathbb{D}} \newcommand{\bE}{\mathbb{E}} \newcommand{\bF}{\mathbb{F}} \newcommand{\bG}{\mathbb{G}} \newcommand{\bK}{\mathbb{K}} \newcommand{\bM}{\mathbb{M}} \newcommand{\bN}{\mathbb{N}} \newcommand{\bO}{\mathbb{O}} \newcommand{\bP}{\mathbb{P}} \newcommand{\bR}{\mathbb{R}} \newcommand{\bV}{\mathbb{V}} \newcommand{\bZ}{\mathbb{Z}} \newcommand{\bfE}{\mathbf{E}} \newcommand{\bfX}{\mathbf{X}} \newcommand{\bfY}{\mathbf{Y}} \newcommand{\bfZ}{\mathbf{Z}} \renewcommand{\O}{\Omega} \renewcommand{\o}{\omega} \newcommand{\vp}{\varphi} \newcommand{\vep}{\varepsilon} \newcommand{\diag}{{\rm diag}} \newcommand{\grp}{{\mathsf{G}}} \newcommand{\dgrp}{{\mathsf{D}}} \newcommand{\desp}{{\mathsf{D}^{\rm{es}}}} \newcommand{\grpeod}{{\rm Geod}} %\newcommand{\grpeod}{{\rm geod}} \newcommand{\hgr}{{\mathsf{H}}} \newcommand{\mgr}{{\mathsf{M}}} \newcommand{\ob}{{\rm Ob}} \newcommand{\obg}{{\rm Ob(\mathsf{G)}}} \newcommand{\obgp}{{\rm Ob(\mathsf{G}')}} \newcommand{\obh}{{\rm Ob(\mathsf{H})}} \newcommand{\Osmooth}{{\Omega^{\infty}(X,*)}} \newcommand{\grphomotop}{{\rho_2^{\square}}} \newcommand{\grpcalp}{{\mathsf{G}(\mathcal P)}} \newcommand{\rf}{{R_{\mathcal F}}} \newcommand{\grplob}{{\rm glob}} \newcommand{\loc}{{\rm loc}} \newcommand{\TOP}{{\rm TOP}} \newcommand{\wti}{\widetilde} \newcommand{\what}{\widehat} \renewcommand{\a}{\alpha} \newcommand{\be}{\beta} \newcommand{\grpa}{\grpamma} %\newcommand{\grpa}{\grpamma} \newcommand{\de}{\delta} \newcommand{\del}{\partial} \newcommand{\ka}{\kappa} \newcommand{\si}{\sigma} \newcommand{\ta}{\tau} \newcommand{\lra}{{\longrightarrow}} \newcommand{\ra}{{\rightarrow}} \newcommand{\rat}{{\rightarrowtail}} \newcommand{\ovset}[1]{\overset {#1}{\ra}} \newcommand{\ovsetl}[1]{\overset {#1}{\lra}} \newcommand{\hr}{{\hookrightarrow}} \newcommand{\<}{{\langle}} %\newcommand{\>}{{\rangle}} %\usepackage{geometry, amsmath,amssymb,latexsym,enumerate} %\usepackage{xypic} \def\baselinestretch{1.1} \hyphenation{prod-ucts} %\grpeometry{textwidth= 16 cm, textheight=21 cm} \newcommand{\sqdiagram}[9]{$$ \diagram #1 \rto^{#2} \dto_{#4}& #3 \dto^{#5} \\ #6 \rto_{#7} & #8 \enddiagram \eqno{\mbox{#9}}$$ } \def\C{C^{\ast}} \newcommand{\labto}[1]{\stackrel{#1}{\longrightarrow}} %\newenvironment{proof}{\noindent {\bf Proof} }{ \hfill $\Box$ %{\mbox{}} \newcommand{\quadr}[4] {\begin{pmatrix} & #1& \\[-1.1ex] #2 & & #3\\[-1.1ex]& #4& \end{pmatrix}} \def\D{\mathsf{D}} \section{Nicolae Popescu, PhD., D.Sc., Acad. Prof.} (born 22 September 1937, at Strehaia, in Romania, EU) is a Roumanian mathematician. He was elected a Full Member of the Romanian Academy in 1992 after the liberation of Romania from dictatorship, and he is best known for his contributions to Abstract Algebra and the theory of Abelian categories, especially sheaf theory and category theory applications to commutative rings and modules. Since 1964 he collaborated on the characterization of Abelian categories with the well-known French mathematician Pierre Gabriel. His areas of expertise are: Category theory focused on Abelian categories with applications to rings and modules, \PMlinkexternal{Adjoint Functors}{http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/AdjointFunctor.html}, limit functors and colimits, commutative ring theory, fields, polynomials, and Valuation Theory]; he also has strong interests and published in the following areas: Algebraic Topology, Algebraic Geometry, Commutative Algebra, K--theory, Class-Field theory and Functional Analysis (Algebraic Function theory). He published between 1962 and 2009 over 112 papers in peer--reviewed, mathematics journals, several monographs on the theory of sheaves, and also six books on category theory and Abstract Algebra. In a Grothendieck--like, energetic style, he initiated and provided scientific leadership to several seminars on \PMlinkexternal{Category theory and Algebraic Geometry}{http://planetphysics.org/encyclopedia/FunctorialAlgebraicGeometry.html} Seminars on Algebraic Geometry and Category theory, sheaves and abstract algebra which resulted in a continuous stream of high--quality mathematical publications in international, peer--reviewed mathematics journals by several members participating in his Seminar series. \subsection{Education} He earned his Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Mathematics in 1964, and his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in mathematics in 1967, both at the University of Bucharest. He was awarded a D. Phil. degree (Doctor Docent) in 1972 by the University of Bucharest. \subsection{Current} Presently, he continues his mathematics studies at the \PMlinkexternal{Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy in the Algebra research group}{http://www.imar.ro/prez/prez_algebra.html}, and also has international collaborations on four continents. One finds from conversations with Academician Nicolae Popescu that he shares many moral, ethical and religious values with another famous mathematician French--German--Jewish Alexander Grothendieck who visited the School of Mathematics in Bucharest in 1968. Like Grothendieck he has a long-standing interest in category theory, number theory, practicing Yoga, and supporting promising young mathematicians in his fields of interest. He also supported the early developments of category theory applications in mathematical biology, relational biology and mathematical biophysics. \subsection{Academic positions} Dr. Nicolae Popescu was appointed as a Lecturer (Assoc. Professor) at the University of Bucharest in 1968 where he taught mathematics graduate students until 1972. Since 1964, he also held a \PMlinkexternal{Research Professorship}{http://www.imar.ro/~nipopesc/} at the Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy, which institute was ruthlessly eliminated by former dictator of S.R. Romania in 1976 for reasons related to his daughter Zoe Cheaushescu who was `hired' by the Mathematics Institute in Bucharest two years before. \subsection{Selected Publications} \subsubsection{Peer--reviewed articles} \subsection{Peer--reviewed Monographs} Nicolae Popescu. Elements of the theory of sheaves (orig.title: Elemente de teoria fascicolelor I, St. Cerc. Mat. (1966) 267--296. {\em Ibid.} Elemente de teoria fascicolelor II, St. Cerc. Mat. (1966) 407--456. {\em Ibid.} Elemente de teoria fascicolelor III, St. Cerc. Mat. (1966) 547--583. {\em Ibid.} Elemente de teoria fascicolelor IV, St. Cerc. Mat. (1966) 647--669. N. Popescu. Elemente de teoria fascicolelor V, {\em St. Cerc. Mat.} (1966) 945--991. (en: Elements of the Theory of Sheaves}. in Studies and Research in Math. (in roum. only). {\em Ibid.}, Elemente de teoria fascicolelor VI, St. Cerc. Mat. (1967) 205--240. \subsection{Other Books (in Roum. only)} N. Popescu. Elemente de teoria analitica a numerelor, Univ. Bucuresti, 1968. (en. title: {\em Elements of the anlytical theory of numbers.}) N. Popescu.{\em Teoria categoriilor si teoria fascicolelor.}, Ed. Stiintifica, 1971. (en: {\em Category theory and the theory of sheaves.}). N. Popescu \PMlinkexternal{Categorii Abeliene, Ed. Academiei, 1971.}{http://www.lib.iastate.edu:81/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1WB345344H890.711450&profile=parks&source=~!horizon&view=items&uri=full=3100001~!47305~!0&ri=1&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Modules+%28Algebra%29&index=PSUBJ&uindex=&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ri=1#focus} Nicolae Popescu. {\em Abelian categories with Applications to Rings and Modules.}, Academic Press, L. M. S. Monograph No.3, London, 1973, $ISBN=0125615507$. Nicolae Popescu and Liliana N. Popescu. {\em Theory of categories}., Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague., Sijthoff and Noordhoff International Publishers, Alphen aan den Rijn, 1979. 337 pp. $ISBN: 90-286-0168-6.$ Selected topics in valuation theory (to appear). \subsection{External Internet/Web links} \PMlinkexternal{Nicolae Popescu, at the Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy}{http://www.imar.ro/~nipopesc/} \subsection{Acknowledgements} This entry is based in part,has significant additions to and changes from, a related \PMlinkexternal{wiki entry}{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Popescu} with the same name.