"Topics in the History of Science"

by Claude Brezinski (Emeritus Professor at the University of Lille, France)

and Michela Redivo-Zaglia (Studiosa Senior of the University of Padua, Italy)

Local: In-person at Room FC1.0.30, DM-FCUP, University of Porto, Portugal.

LIVESTREAM by Zoom (no replays available)

Time: 14h30m-16h30m (GMT)

Dates:

23 April (Thursday)

The birth of orthogonal polynomials and the contributions of Elwin Bruno Christoffel (1829-1900), Gauss (1777-1855), Jacobi (1804-1851) and Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues (1795-1851). Part I

30 April (Thursday)

The birth of orthogonal polynomials and the contributions of Elwin Bruno Christoffel (1829-1900), Gauss (1777-1855), Jacobi (1804-1851) and Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues (1795-1851). Part II

4 May (Monday)

Lanczos-type methods: linear algebra and orthogonal polynomials approaches and a history of calculating devices

8 May (Friday)

Extrapolation methods from Archimedes to the present days:  theory, applications and the quest for the construction of vector sequence transformations. Part I

14 May (Thursday) 

Extrapolation methods from Archimedes to the present days:  theory, applications and the quest for the construction of vector sequence transformations. Part II

Abstract: 

The French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) wrote

"To understand science, it is necessary to know its history."

Thus, these lectures aim to provide attendees with knowledge of the historical roots, the birth, and early developments of some topics in applied mathematics and, more generally, in sciences. Each lecture is self-contained and requires no prerequisites or knowledge of the preceding ones. Some topics are more mathematical, while others relate to the historyof discoveries and are easier to follow.

Organized by Zélia da Rocha (Department of Mathematics of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, and the Center of Mathematics of the University of Porto)

Each person interested in online participation in some or all lectures is kindly requested to send a message with her/his name and affiliation to the organizer (mrdioh@fc.up.pt) to obtain the livestream link.

Short Bios of speakers:

Claude Brezinski is Emeritus Professor at the University of Lille, France, where he was the head of the Laboratory of Numerical Analysis and Optimisation for 30 years. He advised 60 doctoral students. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the journal «Numerical Algorithms». He is the author of over 250 papers and several books on applied mathematics and the history of science.

Michela Redivo-Zaglia is  Studiosa Senior dello Studium Patavinum at the University of Padua, Italy, where she was vice director of the Department of Mathematics for three years. She is a member of the editorial board of several journals. She has published 10 books, about 90 research papers, and important software packages. She has organized many congresses and has been a plenary or invited speaker at many international conferences worldwide.

Bibliography:

Claude Brezinski, Michela Redivo-Zaglia
The Birth and Early Developments of Orthogonal Polynomials
A Chronological History
https://epubs.siam.org/doi/book/10.1137/1.9781611978513

Claude Brezinski, Gérard Meurant, Michela Redivo-Zaglia
A Journey through the History of Numerical Linear Algebra
https://gerard-meurant.fr/book_2022.html
https://doi.org/10.1137/1.9781611977233

Sponsors:

CMUP - Center of Mathematics of the University of Porto

FCUP - Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto