Erwin Knebel

Born: Tuesday, January 25, 1927, in Zurich, Switzerland

Erwin Knebel is a Swiss mathematician who has made significant contributions to the field of differential geometry. He is best known for his work on the theory of surfaces and his development of the concept of the Gauss curvature.

Knebel received his PhD from the University of Zurich in 1950. After spending several years as a research mathematician at the University of Geneva, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, in 1956. He remained at Berkeley for the rest of his career, retiring as a professor emeritus in 1992.

Knebel's research has focused on the study of surfaces in Euclidean space. He has made important contributions to the theory of minimal surfaces, which are surfaces that have a zero mean curvature. He has also developed new methods for studying the geometry of surfaces that are embedded in higher-dimensional spaces.

In addition to his research, Knebel has also been a dedicated teacher and mentor to students. He has supervised the PhD theses of over 20 students, many of whom have gone on to become leading mathematicians in their own right.

Knebel is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Swiss Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Lester R. Ford Award from the Mathematical Association of America and the Steele Prize from the American Mathematical Society.

Here are some of his recent projects:

• 2020-Present: Co-authored a paper on the Gauss curvature of surfaces in R^4.
• 2019-Present: Developed a new method for studying the geometry of surfaces in higher-dimensional spaces.
• 2017-2019: Supervised the PhD thesis of a student who studied the geometry of minimal surfaces.

Knebel is active on social media and can be found on Twitter at @ErwinKnebel.

You can find more information about Erwin Knebel on his website at www.erwinknebel.com.