Traian Lalescu

Infobox_Scientist
name = Traian Lalescu


caption =
birth_date = birth date|1882|7|12|mf=y
birth_place =Bucharest, Romania
death_date = death date and age|1929|6|15|1882|7|12|mf=y
death_place = Bucharest, Romania
residence =
nationality =
field = Mathematician
work_institution = Polytechnic University of Timişoara
University of Bucharest
alma_mater = University of Bucharest
University of Paris
doctoral_advisor = Émile Picard
doctoral_students =
known_for = Integral equations
prizes =
religion =
footnotes =

Traian Lalescu (July 12, 1882, Bucharest–June 15, 1929, Bucharest) was a Romanian mathematician. His main focus was on integral equations and he contributed to work in the areas of functional equations, trigonometric series, mathematical physics, geometry, mechanics, algebra, and the history of mathematics.

Life

He went to the Carol I High School in Craiova, continuing high school in Roman and Iaşi. After entering the University of Iaşi, he completed his undergraduate studies in 1903 at the University of Bucharest.

He earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Paris in 1908. His dissertation, "Sur les équations de Volterra", was written under the direction of Émile Picard. In 1911, he published "Introduction to the Theory of Integral Equations", the first book ever on the subject of integral equations.

He was a professor at the University of Bucharest, the Polytechnic University of Timişoara (where he was the first rector, in 1920), and the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.

The Lalescu sequence

: $L\_\{n\}\; =\; sqrt\; [n+1]\; \{(n+1)!\}-sqrt\; [n]\; \{n!\}$: $lim\_\{n\; oinfty\}\; L\_\{n\}\; =\; frac\{1\}\{e\}$

Legacy

There are several institutions bearing his name, including Colegiul Naţional de Informatică "Traian Lalescu" in Hunedoara and Liceul Teoretic "Traian Lalescu" in Reşiţa. There is also a Traian Lalescu Street in Timişoara. The National Mathematics Contest "Traian Lalescu" for undergraduate students is also named after him.

A statue of Lalescu, executed in 1930 by Cornel Medrea, is situated in front of the Faculty of Mechanics, in Timişoara.

Work

* T. Lalesco, "Introduction à la théorie des équations intégrales. Avec une préface de É. Picard", Paris: A. Hermann et Fils, 1912. VII + 152 pp. [http://www.zentralblatt-math.org/zmath/en/advanced/?q=an:43.0438.05 JFM entry]
* Traian Lalescu, "Introducere la teoria ecuaţiilor integrale", Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, 1956. 134 pp. (A reprint of the first edition [Bucharest, 1911] , with a bibliography taken from the French translation [Paris, 1912] ). MathSciNet|id=0085450

External links

*MathGenealogy|id=105396
* [http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/stiinta/lalescu.html "Representative Figures of the Romanian Science and Technology"]
* [http://cnihd.licee.edu.ro/vezi.php?id=8&ce=stire "Traian Lalescu"] , from Colegiul Naţional de Informatică "Traian Lalescu", Hunedoara
* [http://liceultraianlalescu.uv.ro/ "Cine a fost Traian Lalescu?"] , from Liceul Teoretic "Traian Lalescu", Reşiţa
* ro icon [http://www.infotim.ro/dccpcnjt/monumenteTM/iii/TM_III_m_B_06310.htm "Monumentul lui Traian Lalescu (1930)"] , at infotim.ro

Persondata
NAME= Lalescu, Traian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH= July 12, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH=Bucharest, Romania
DATE OF DEATH= June 15, 1929
PLACE OF DEATH= Bucharest, Romania