Faculty - Dr. Stephen Smale
PhD - University of Michigan
Adjoint Professor
Born in Michigan, USA, Professor Smale received his PhD degree from the University of Michigan in 1957, and within four years became a full Professor at Columbia University. In 1964, he was named a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley and held the post for 30 years before joining City University as a Distinguished University Professor.
Professor Smale has made significant contributions in the fields of dynamical systems, geometry, econometrics, operational research, topology and the mathematical theory of computer science. These contributions have resulted in a number of academic awards and achievements including his holding of the prestigious Alfred Solan Research Fellowship from 1960-62. In 1966, Professor Smale won a Fields Medal - a international medal awarded once every four years for outstanding discoveries in mathematics. This honor is comparable to a Nobel Prize and is traditionally awarded to mathematicians under 40 years of age. Important honors bestowed upon Professor Smale during his distinguished academic career include the 1965 Veblen Prize for Geometry, awarded every five years by the American Mathematical Society; in 1988, the Chauvenet Prize by the Mathematical Association of America; and in 1989, the Von Neumann Award by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Professor Smale is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is recognized internationally in many fields of Mathematics, and has been invited as Visiting Professor to such esteemed institutions as College de France, Paris (Spring 1962), University of Paris, Orsay (Fall 1972-73), Yale University (Fall 1974) and Columbia University (Fall 1987).
Dr. Smale also has a personally maintained website which can be found at http://www.ttic.edu/smale