Frank Adams Article Index for
Frank
Website Links For
Frank
 

Information About

Frank Adams




Frank Adams may also refer to Frank Patrick Adams .


John Frank Adams ( November 5 , 1930January 7 , 1989 ) was a British Mathematician , one of the founders of Homotopy Theory .

He began research as a student of Besicovitch , but switched to Algebraic Topology . Influenced by the French school of Henri Cartan and Jean-Pierre Serre , he reformulated and strengthened their method of Killing Homotopy Groups in Spectral Sequence terms, creating the basic tool of Stable Homotopy Theory now known as the Adams Spectral Sequence . This begins with Ext Group s calculated over the ring of Cohomology Operation s; the Steenrod Algebra in the classical case. For an Extraordinary Cohomology Theory there is the Adams-Novikov Spectral Sequence , a computational tool of great potential scope.

He was also a pioneer in the application of K-theory , solving the Hopf Invariant One problem with its aid. The Adams Operation s in K-theory are derived from the Exterior Power s, and are now widely used in purely algebraic contexts. The Adams Conjecture on the J-homomorphism is related to the Homotopy Groups Of Spheres .

He was born in Woolwich , London England , and died in a car accident near Cambridge , England. He became Lowndean Professor at the University Of Cambridge . His interests included Mountaineering — he would demonstrate how to climb right round a table at parties — and Go .


EXTERNAL LINK