Person

Van der Poorten, Alfred Jacobus (Alf) (1942 - 2010)

AM

Born
16 May 1942
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died
9 October 2010
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Mathematician and University Administrator

Summary

Alf van der Poorten was a mathematician of international standing whose research focused on number theory. He was particularly interested in diophantine analysis, Baker's theorem, transcendental numbers, continued fractions and elliptic curves. Working with colleagues he made significant discoveries including the solution of Posit's conjecture on the rationality of Hadamard quotients, and on the Einstein constant. He also published commentaries on the work of other mathematicians including Euler and Fermat. Van der Poorten was Professor of Mathematics at Macquarie University from 1979 to 2002 and served on the University's Council. His involvement with the Australian Mathematical Society included a term as President and editorship of several of the Society's journals. During his presidency, Australia hosted the 5th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He was a member of mathematical review panels both in Australia and internationally, and was one of Australia's three delegates to successive International Mathematical Union quadrennial assemblies

Details

Chronology

1965
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)), University of New South Wales
1965
Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of New South Wales
1965 - 1979
Career position - Member, Board of Directors, University Co-operative Bookshop Ltd
1967 - 1973
Career position - Member of Council, University of New South Wales
1968
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of New South Wales
1968 - 1971
Career position - Lecturer in Pure Mathematics, University of New South Wales
1971 - 1974
Career position - Senior Lecturer in Pure Mathematics, University of New South Wales
1972
Education - MBA, University of Sydney
1973 - 1977
Career position - Founding Editor, Australian Mathematical Society gazette
1975 - 1978
Career position - Associate Professor of Pure Mathematics, University of New South Wales
1979 - 1982
Career position - Chairman, Board of Directors, University Co-operative Bookshop Ltd
1979 - 1997
Career position - Associate Editor, Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society
1979 - 2002
Career position - Professor of Mathematics, School of Mathematics, Physics, Computing and Electronics, Macquarie University
1980 - 1987
Career position - Head, School of Mathematics, Physics, Computing and Electronics, Macquarie University
1987 - 1991
Career position - Chairman, New South Wales Selection Committee, Australian-American Education Foundation (Fulbright Scheme)
1990 - ?
Career position - Consulting Editor, Mathematical journal
1990 - 2001
Career position - Member of Council, Macquarie University
1991 - 1996
Career position - Head, School of Mathematics, Physics, Computing and Electronics, Macquarie University
1991 - 2002
Career position - Director, Centre for Number Theory Research, Macquarie University
1996 - 1998
Career position - President, Australian Mathematical Society
1998
Award - Doctorate honoris causa, Université Bordeaux, France
2002
Award - George Szekeres Medal (jointly), Australian Mathematical Society
2004
Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to mathematical research and education, particularly in the field of number theory
2009 - 2010
Award - Honorary Member, Australian Mathematical Society

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Private hands (van der Poorten, A.J.)

  • Alfred Jacobus Van der Poorten - Records, 1960 - 1988; Private hands (van der Poorten, A.J.). Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Coates, J. H.; van der Poorten, A. J., 'Kurt Mahler 1903-1988', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (4) (1993), 369-385. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9930940369. Details
  • Coates, John Henry and Van per Poorten, A. J., 'Kurt Mahler, 26 July 1903 - 26 February 1988', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 39 (1994), 265-97. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1994.0016. Details
  • Hunt, David, 'Emeritus Professor Alfred Jacobus (Alf) van der Poorten 16 May 1942 - 9 October 2010', Australian Mathematical Society gazette, 38 (1) (2011), 33-6. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • Brown, Malcolm, 'Lauded mind brought humour in numbers: Alf van der Poorten, 1942 - 2010', Sydney Morning Herald (2010). Details

Resources

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

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