Mathematicians Of The Day

24th September



On this day in 2017, Maryna Viazovska was given a Clay Research Award in recognition of her groundbreaking work on sphere-packing problems in eight and twenty-four dimensions. In particular, she proved that the E8E_8 lattice is an optimal solution in eight dimensions.

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Quotation of the day

From Girolamo Cardano
Scipio Ferro of Bologna well-nigh thirty years ago discovered this rule and handed it on to Antonio Maria Fior of Venice, whose contest with Niccolo Tartaglia of Brescia gave Niccolo occasion to discover it. He [Tartaglia] gave it to me in response to my entreaties, though withholding the demonstration. Armed with this assistance, I sought out its demonstration in [various] forms. This was very difficult.
Ars Magna (Basel, 1545)