Heinz-Otto Peitgen

Heinz-Otto Peitgen (born April 30, 1945 in Bruch, Nümbrecht near Cologne) is a German mathematician. Peitgen is one of the most prominent researchers in the study of fractals.

Life

Peitgen studied mathematics, physics and economics from 1965 until 1971 in Bonn, later working for six years at the Institute for Applied Mathematics at the University of Bonn under Christian Fenske, where he received his PhD in 1973. His doctoral dissertation was "Asymptotische Fixpunktsätze und Stabilität" (en: "Asymptotic fixed-point theorems and stability").

After receiving his habilitation in 1977, he first taught as private docent in Bonn before obtaining a professorship for mathematics at the University of Bremen.

In 1986 Peitgen and Peter Richter published their lavishly illustrated and very influential book "The Beauty of Fractals", which was amongst the first books popularizing the concept of fractals to the general public. This book was followed up in 1988 by "The Science of Fractal Images" and in 1992 by a large and authoritative volume entitled "Chaos and Fractals: New Frontiers of Science", written in collaboration with Hartmut Jürgens and Dietmar Saupe.

Peitgen is director of the Centre for Complex Systems and Visualization (Centrum für Complexe Systeme und Visualisierung - CeVis) at the University of Bremen. His research work emphasises dynamical systems, numerical analysis, image analysis, and data analysis, as well as the use of computers in image-based medical diagnostics.

Awards

2005 Werner Körte Medaille in gold - presented by the German association for surgery (DGCH) for the development of a software visualization program, which is used by surgeons to understand possible complications and determine improved procedures for complicated liver-surgical interventions. [cite web
title =Werner Körte Medaille in Gold für Heinz-Otto Peitgen
publisher =http://www.mevis.de
date =2005-07-04
url =http://www.mevis.de/home/single-news/period/1146224698///article/17/werner-korte-medaille-in-gold-fur-heinz-otto-peitgen/?cHash=713594d9f1
accessdate =2007-05-07 ]

Selected publications

* "The Beauty of Fractals", Springer, Heidelberg, 1986 (with P. H. Richter)
* "The Science of Fractal Images", Springer Verlag, Tokyo, Springer, New York, 1988 (with D. Saupe)
* "Newton's Method and Dynamical Systems", Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1989
* "Fraktale: Gezähmtes Chaos", Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung, Themen XLIX, München, 1990 (with H. Jürgens)
* "Fractals for the Classroom – Strategic Activities, Vol. 1", Springer-Verlag, New York, and NCTM, 1990 (with H. Jürgens, D. Saupe, E. Maletsky, T. Perciante and L. Yunker)
* "Fractals for the Classroom – Part One", Springer-Verlag, New York, and NCTM, 1991 (with H. Jürgens and D. Saupe)
* "Fractals for the Classroom – Part Two", Springer-Verlag, New York, and NCTM, 1992 (with H. Jürgens and D. Saupe)
* "Fractals for the Classroom – Strategic Activities, Vol. 2", Springer-Verlag, New York, and NCTM, 1992 (with H. Jürgens, D. Saupe, E. Maletsky, T. Perciante and L. Yunker)
* "Chaos and Fractals: New Frontiers of Science", Springer-Verlag, 1992 (with H. Jürgens and D. Saupe)

References

External links

* Complete list of publications by Heinz-Otto Peitgen [http://www.iconic-turn.de/upload/51_peitgen_biblio_lang.doc]
* Center for Complex Systems and Visualization (CeVis) [http://www.cevis.uni-bremen.de]
* Heinz Otto Peitgen at Iconic Turn (in German) [http://www.iconic-turn.de/staticpages/index.php?page=referentid51]