In Touch with God: An Interview with Paul Halmos

Abstract

In a few months, Paul Halmos will be 88. Sixty-six years ago he received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois under the direction of Joe Doob. His contributions to mathematics over those 66 years have been substantial. He is an exemplary writer, teacher, editor, and research mathematician. He has the awards to prove it, too: the Chauvenet Prize, the Lester R. Ford Award (twice), the P61lya Award, the Steele Prize, the Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching, and the MAA's highest award, the Gung-Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics. He was born in Hungary, and came to the United States when he was 13. Five years later he earned his B.S. in mathematics from the University of Illinois. Upon completing his doctorate in 1938, he spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Study as an assistant to Johnny von Neumann. While there he began writing FiniteDimensional Vector Spaces, the first of his 17 books. It was published in 1942 and is still in print 62 years later! The fact that most of his books are still in print is further testimony to the quality and staying power of his writing. He also has written 122 papers and served as editor of The American Mathematical Monthly. He has held positions at Chicago, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara University. Now retired from Santa Clara University, he and his wife Ginger reside a few miles from the campus, where they maintain two apartments, one for mathematics and one for basic living. In this interview, done in 1990, Halmos talks about the best and worst parts of being a mathematician, cats, the law, doing mathematics, the root of all deep mathematics, and smelling mathematicians. Maverick Mathologist, an earlier interview, done in 1981, can be found in Mathematical People or online at www.maa.org/Halmos.