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Israel Gohberg and friends. On the occasion of his 80th birthday. (English) Zbl 1230.01001

Basel: Birkhäuser (ISBN 978-3-7643-8733-4/hbk). xiv, 324 p. (2008).
Publisher’s description: This book is dedicated to Israel Gohberg on the occasion of his 80th birthday on August 23, 2008. It is an expression of esteem and friendship for a great mathematician, a remarkable person and an inspiring colleague. The book contains reflections by Gohberg himself on his own mathematical activities and those of others. It also includes contributions of colleagues and co-workers, both from his time in the Soviet Union and from when he lived and worked in the West. The contributions in question are not mathematical research papers but focus on the man Israel Gohberg and are intended for a wide audience. To be found are letters, speeches, laudatios and reminiscences which, together, present an attractive picture of the way in which Israel Gohberg in the past four to five decades influenced the lives of many mathematicians. Biographical material such as a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a list of Ph.D. students and information about honorary doctoral degrees is also included.
Contents:
Preface. Congratulations from the Publisher.
Part I. Mathematical and Philosophical-Mathematical Tales:
I. Gohberg, Mathematical Tale; I. Gohberg, Philosophical-Mathematical Tales: A Personal Account; Z. Faro-Gohberg and Y. Israeli-Gohberg, Our Dad’s Mathematics.
This part contains two presentations written by Gohberg himself in which he speaks about his mathematical development in former years and on some general, philosophically tinted aspects of mathematics. It also features a piece written by the two Gohberg daughters, Zvia and Yanina, giving an impression of what it meant to be the children of a loving father leading a life devoted to mathematics.
Part II. Work and Personalia:
Curriculum Vitae of Israel Gohberg; List of Publications of Israel Gohberg; List of Ph.D. Students of Israel Gohberg; Reference of M.G. Krein; Election Academy Moldova; M.A. Kaashoek, Review of the Mathematical Work of Israel Gohberg; M.A. Kaashoek and L. Lerer, Gohberg’s Mathematical Work in the Period 1998–2008; The Nathan and Lily Silver Chair.
This part starts with some documents carrying factual information: Gohberg’s curriculum vitae, a list of his publications and a list of his Ph.D students. Also included are a translation of a letter of reference written by M. G. Krein, when Gohberg was a master student, and translations of letters and telegrams supporting his nomination as a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Moldavian SSR. The next two documents, written by Rien Kaashoek and by Rien Kaashoek and Leonid Lerer, respectively, present a review of Gohberg’s mathematical work. The final document of this part concerns the Nathan and Lily Silver Chair of Mathematics at Tel-Aviv University which was created for Israel Gohberg especially and has played such an important role in his life after his immigration to Israel.
Part III. Gohberg Miscellania: Celebrating the 60th Birthday.
This part reproduces the Gohberg Miscellanea as published earlier on the occasion of Gohberg’s 60th birthday in Operator Theory: Advances and Applications, Vol. 40. This biographical text was composed from reminiscences, notes, letters and speeches prepared by Gohberg’s former students, colleagues and friends.
Part IV. Celebrating the 70th Birthday.
This part contains the dinner speeches of the 1998 IWOTA meeting in Groningen as they appeared in Operator Theory: Advances and Applications, Vol. 124.
Part V. About Colleagues and Friends:
I. Gohberg, Opening Address. Toeplitz Memorial Conference; I. Gohberg, M.S. Livšic and I. Piatetski-Shapiro, David Milman (1912–1982); H. Dym, I. Gohberg and N. Kravitsky, Biography of M.S. Livšic; I. Gohberg, Odessa Reminiscences; I. Gohberg, Opening Address at the M.A. Kaashoek 60th Birthday Workshop in Amsterdam, November 1997; I. Gohberg, Mark Grigorievich Krein: Recollections; A. Dijksma and I. Gohberg, Heinz Langer and his Work; I. Gohberg, Vladimir Maz’ya: Friend and Mathematician. Recollections; I. Gohberg, Reminiscences of Béla Szökefalvi-Nagy; I. Gohberg, Peter Lancaster, my Friend and Co-author; I. Gohberg, On Joint Work with Harry Dym; R.L. Ellis and I. Gohberg, In Memoriam Seymour Goldberg (1928–2004); A. Böttcher, I. Gohberg and B. Silbermann, In Memoriam Georg Heinig (1947–2005); I. Gohberg, Recollections: Vasile Grigorievich Ceban, on his 90th Birthday; I. Gohberg, Heinz Langer, my Fried and Colleague – Recollections; I. Gohberg and M.A. Kaashoek, Our Meetings with Erhard Meister.
This part reproduces articles that were written or co-authored by Israel Gohberg himself. Some of those have the character of an In Memoriam, paying tribute to a dear colleague who has passed away. Others are Recollections, Reminiscences or Reviews that highlight the work and personality of a friend celebrating a special occasion. These documents taken together give a fascinating and sometimes moving insight in the human factors that have influenced the development of the field.
Part VI. Honorary Doctorates:
Laudatios and Replies: Darmstadt, Germany, Vienna, Austria, Timişoara, Romania, Chisinau, Moldova, Balti, Moldova, Technion, Haifa, Israel.
This part contains material connected with the honorary doctorates of Israel Gohberg. Included are laudatios, acceptance speeches and other related documents.
Part VII. Festschrift 2008:
D. Alpay, Collaborating with Israel Gohberg: Some Personal Thoughts; J.A. Ball, My Collaboration with Israel Gohberg; H. Bart, Israel Gohberg: a Teacher and a Friend; A. Böttcher, Linear and One-dimensional; H. Dym, Rehovot Days Redux2; Y. Eidelman, Israel Tsudikovich: My Older Colleague and Older Friend; R. L. Ellis, Eight Friends; A. E. Frazho, Israel Gohberg and Engineering; M. A. Kaashoek, Professor at Amsterdam: Thank you Israel!; P. Lancaster, IG and Me; H. J. Landau, To Israel; J. Leiterer, From a Young Student to an Older One; Ran, What About Stability?; L. Rodman, Israel Gohberg and his Influence on my Mathematical Life; B. Silbermann, The First Visits of Israel Gohberg to Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz); I. Spitkovsky, My Gohberg Encounters; F. van Schagen, Becoming a Co-author.
This final part consists of short articles written by friends and colleagues in which they reflect on their experiences with Israel Gohberg. The contributions are comparable to those of Parts III and IV but written especially for the present occasion. They again underline the impact Israel had on the lives of those that worked with him.
Pictures.
The articles of this volume will not be indexed individually.

MSC:

01-06 Proceedings, conferences, collections, etc. pertaining to history and biography
00B30 Festschriften
01A70 Biographies, obituaries, personalia, bibliographies
46-06 Proceedings, conferences, collections, etc. pertaining to functional analysis
47-06 Proceedings, conferences, collections, etc. pertaining to operator theory

Keywords:

Birthday

Biographic References:

Gohberg, Israel
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