Affiliation: University of Illinois
Email: berndt@math.uiuc.edu
Title Of Talk: Ramanujan: his life, friends, notebooks, and identities for the Rogers-Ramanujan functions
Abstract: Ramanujan was born in southern India in 1887 and died there in 1920 at the age of 32. He had only one year of college, but his mathematical discoveries, made mostly in isolation, have made him one of the most influential mathematicians for nearly 100 years. A brief account of Ramanujan's life will be presented. Particular attention will be given to his friends, for whom we shall provide short biographical sketches. Most of Ramanujan's mathematical discoveries were recorded without proofs in notebooks, and a description and history of these notebooks and his famous lost notebook will be given. The geneses of many of Ramanujan's discoveries remain hidden behind an impenetrable fog. As one example, in the only mathematical content of the lecture, we shall discuss his famous 40 identities for the Rogers-Ramanujan functions. The lecture will be accompanied by overhead transparencies depicting Ramanujan, his home, his school, his notebooks, and those influential in his life, including his mother and wife.
Last update made Sun Nov 14 19:42:49 EST 2004.
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