F. W. Gehring
University of Michigan
August 7, 1925 - May 29, 2012
|
Scientific Discipline: Mathematics Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1989)
|
Frederick W. Gehring was an influential mathematician who made major contributions to geometric function theory. He developed this field in close coordination with colleagues, primarily in Finland, over the three decades from 1960 to 1990. Gehring’s seminal work in geometric function theory—notably, by making important connections with geometry and nonlinear partial differential equations to solve major problems—helped drive it forward. He also did important research in numerous other mathematical fields, including real and complex analysis, discrete groups, hyperbolic geometry, and geometric group theory.
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI, Gehring attended the University of Michigan (UM), where he earned bachelors and masters degrees in mathematics. He then pursued doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge on a Fulbright Scholarship and earned his Ph.D. there in 1952. Upon returning to the United States, he was appointed Benjamin Peirce instructor at Harvard University, where he served for three years.
Gehring returned to Ann Arbor in 1955 to join the faculty of the Department of Mathematics at UM, where he remained based until retiring at age 70. Gehring had been promoted to professor in 1962, named to a collegiate chair in 1984, and appointed the T. H. Hildebrandt Distinguished University Professor in 1987. He also served three terms (eight years in total) as department chairman.
An important aspect of Gehring’s professional work was his extensive service as an editor. He was a member of the editorial boards of nine research journals and a book-series editor for Van Nostrand (1963–70), North Holland (1970–94), and, most famously, Springer-Verlag (1974–2003)—notably with its Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics series.
In 2006, the American Mathematical Society honored Gehring with its Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement. “Largely because of Gehring’s work,” the accompanying citation stated, “the theory of quasiconformal mappings has influenced many other parts of mathematics, including complex dynamics, function theory, partial differential equations, and topology. … Gehring’s mathematics is characterized by its elegance and simplicity and by its emphasis on deceptively elementary questions [that] later become surprisingly significant.”
