Daniel Gorenstein, 1923-1992 - A Biographical Memoir by Michael Aschbacher

Abstract

Daniel Gorenstein was one of the most influential figures in mathematics during the last few decades of the 20th century. In particular, he was a primary architect of the classification of the finite simple groups. During his career Gorenstein received many of the honors that the mathematical community reserves for its highest achievers. He was awarded the Steele Prize for mathematical exposition by the American Mathematical Society in 1989; he delivered the plenary address at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Helsinki, Finland, in 1978; and he was the Colloquium Lecturer for the American Mathematical Society in 1984. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Gorenstein was the Jacqueline B. Lewis Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University and the founding director of its Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. He served as chairman of the university’s mathematics department from 1975 to 1982, and together with his predecessor, Ken Wolfson, he oversaw a dramatic improvement in the quality of mathematics at Rutgers.