José Luis Massera

José Luis Massera (June 8, 1915–September 9, 2002) [citation|title=José Luis Massera (1915–2002)|last1=Broué|first1=M.|last2=Gonzalez-Sprinberg|first2=G.|journal=Gazette des Mathématiciens|volume=94|page=8|year=2002|id=MathSciNet|id=2067167|url=http://smf.emath.fr/en/Publications/Gazette/2002/94/smf_gazette_94_8-8.pdf.] [citation|title=José Luis Massera|last=Kahane|first1=J.-P.|authorlink=Jean-Pierre Kahane|journal=Gazette des Mathématiciens|volume=94|pages=9–13|year=2002|id=MathSciNet|id=2067168|url=http://smf.emath.fr/en/Publications/Gazette/2002/94/smf_gazette_94_9-13.pdf.] was an Uruguayan mathematician who researched the stability of differential equations. Massera's lemma is named after him. He published over 40 papers during 1940–1970. A militant Communist, he was a political prisoner during 1975–1984.

In the 1930s, Rey Pastor gave regular weekend lectures on topology in Montevideo to a group that included Massera. Stimulated by contact with Argentine mathematics, the 1950s saw Uruguay develop a fine school in mathematics, of which Massera was very much a part of. [cite book | last = Bethell | first = Leslie | title = Ideas and Ideologies in Twentieth Century Latin America | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 1996 | pages = 336 | isbn = 0521468337 | id = Bethell]

Massera developed new notions of stability, and published several foundational papers and an influential textbook. His results in harv|Massera|1950 on periodic differential equations have been heavily cited and are referred to as Massera's theorem. His work in harv|Massera|1949 and harv|Massera|1956 on the converse to Lyapunov's criterion is also influential, and contain the well known Massera's lemma. His textbook harv|Massera|Schäffer|1966 is also heavily cited .

In 1971, at age 62 , Massera was elected to the senate as an alternate senator. [cite book | last = Joyce | first = James Avery | title = Human Rights: International Documents | publisher = Brill Archive | date = 1978 | pages = 1529 | isbn = 9028602984 | id =joyce] After military intervention in Uruguay in 1973, [cite book | last = Bethell | first = Leslie | title = Ideas and Ideologies in Twentieth Century Latin America | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 1996 | pages = 336 | isbn = 0521468337 | id = Bethell] Massera was arrested on October 22, 1975 in Montevideo and was held in solitary confinement for nearly a year. During this time he was subjected to repeated torture resulting in injuries including a fractured pelvis. In October 1976 he was taken from solitary confinement, tried and convicted for "subversive association", and given a 24-year prison sentence. [cite book | last = Joyce | first = James Avery | title = Human Rights: International Documents | publisher = Brill Archive | date = 1978 | pages = 1529 | isbn = 9028602984 | id =joyce] He was released in 1984. [MR|0712764]

elected works

* | year=1949 | journal=Annals of Mathematics. Second Series | issn=0003-486X | volume=50 | pages=705–721
* | year=1950 | journal=Duke Mathematical Journal | issn=0012-7094 | volume=17 | pages=457–475
* | year=1956 | journal=Annals of Mathematics. Second Series | issn=0003-486X | volume=64 | pages=182–206
* | year=1966

References