Jacob E. Goodman

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Jacob E. Goodman
Born (1933-11-15) November 15, 1933 (age 90)
Lynn, Massachusetts
Nationality  United States
Fields Mathematics, Music
Institutions City College of New York
Alma mater New York University
Columbia University
Doctoral advisor Heisuke Hironaka[1]
Known for Open affine subsets of algebraic varieties
Allowable sequences and wiring diagrams
Geometric transversal theory
Discrete and Computational Geometry
Handbook of Discrete and Computational Geometry
New York Composers Circle
Notable awards Lester R. Ford Award (Mathematical Association of America, 1990)

Jacob Eli Goodman (born November 15, 1933) is an American geometer who has spent most of his career at the City College of New York, where he is now Professor Emeritus.[2] In 1986 he and Richard Pollack were the founding co-editors-in-chief of the journal Discrete and Computational Geometry.[3]

Together, he and Pollack (his long-term collaborator) introduced concepts such as "allowable sequence of permutations" and "wiring diagram" [4] which have played a major role in discrete geometry, specifically in the study of arrangements of pseudolines and (more generally) oriented matroids. His work with Pollack includes such results as the first nontrivial bounds on the number of order types and polytopes, [5] and a generalization of the Hadwiger transversal theorem to higher dimensions [6] In addition to the work above, Goodman is also known as the originator of the "pancake problem," an elementary question on permutations which he published under the pseudonym Harry Dweighter (sounds like "harried waiter"), [7] and which gave rise to the concept of pancake sorting, [8] [9] which turns out to play a role in DNA rearrangements in molecular biology [10]

Among Goodman's best-known work is the Handbook of Discrete and Computational Geometry, which he co-edited with Joseph O'Rourke. [11] In 1999 Goodman returned to an old love, musical composition, and in 2002 was founding president of the New York Composers Circle.[12] [13]

In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.[14]

Selected publications

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References

  1. Jacob Eli Goodman at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  2. http://math.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/person/list
  3. http://www.springer.com/journal/454
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  8. http://www.maa.org/mathtourist/mathtourist_10_9_08.html
  9. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PancakeSorting.html
  10. http://sites.google.com/site/ivarspeterson/pancakesorting.
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  12. http://nycomposerscircle.org/about
  13. http://nycomposerscircle.org/2010/08/05/jacob-e-goodman
  14. List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2013-01-19.