Thursday, May 23, 2013

Belgian Mathematician Wins Abel Prize for Shaping Algebraic Geometry

Pierre Deligne netted the prize, one of the most prestigious in mathematics and worth about $1 million, for proving a deep conjecture about algebraic geometry which has helped to transform number theory and related fields. Click here for more information.

Monday, May 06, 2013

Kenneth I. Appel, Mathematician Who Harnessed Computer Power, Dies at 80

Kenneth I. Appel, who helped usher the venerable mathematical proof into the computer age, solving a longstanding problem concerning colors on a map with the help of an I.B.M. computer making billions of decisions, died on April 19 in Dover, N.H. He was 80.

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Wednesday, February 06, 2013

48th Known Mersenne Prime Found!

On January 25th, the largest known prime number, 257,885,161-1, was discovered on Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) volunteer Curtis Cooper's computer. The new prime number, 2 multiplied by itself 57,885,161 times, less one, has 17,425,170 digits.

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