Israel Halperin

Israel Halperin ( born January 5, 1911 in Westmount, Quebec; † 8 March 2007) was a Canadian mathematician who was concerned with functional analysis and operator algebras. He was also known as a human rights activist.

Halperin was the son of Russian immigrants, and studied at the University of Toronto with a degree in 1932 and at Princeton University, where he received his doctorate in 1936 at Salomon Bochner and John von Neumann ( Adjoints and Closures of linear differential operator ). From 1939 he was at Queen's University ( Kingston), interrupted by service in the Canadian Army in the Second World War in a research department of the artillery in Ottawa (Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment, CARDE ). Most recently, he was a Major. After returning to his university, he was in 1946 for spying for the Soviet Union arrested as part of the investigation after the Russian decryption officials Igor Gouzenko had overflowed and had testified against the authorities, as well as other people like Gordon Lunan, the Halperin -loaded. Halperin was questioned before a committee, which concluded in 1947 ( influenced by the uncooperative behavior of Halperin ) that he had violated the confidentiality rules ( Official Secrets Act ). He returned thanks to the support of University President Charles Durning ( who was supported by inputs of numerous scientists such as Albert Einstein) to his university where he taught as a professor until 1966 and then went to the University of Toronto, where he retired in 1976.

He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1953 ), the Henry Marshall Tory Medal he received in 1967, and an honorary doctorate from Queen's University (1989). He was a member of the Order of Canada because of its commitment to human rights. But he also received the Pagels Award from the New York Academy of Sciences.

He gave several unfinished manuscripts from the estate of John von Neumann out (such as the Continuous Geometries ).

Halperin had been married since 1940 and had four children who were all professors of physics professor at Northwestern University William Halperin, Connie Eaves ( stem cell research ), the mathematician Stephen Halperin and Mary Hannah.

His PhD is one of George A. Elliott.

Writings

• Introduction to the theory of distributions, based on lectures of Laurent Schwartz, University of Toronto Press 1952