Szekeres, George (1911 - 2005)

Summary

George Szekeres was Professor of Mathematics at the University of New South Wales from 1963 until his retirement in 1976. He was heavily involved in setting problems for the high schools mathematics competition run by the University of New South Wales and for the yearly problem competitions for undergraduate students organised by the Sydney University Mathematics Society. His research was in the area of number theory, combinatorics and analysis.

Details

After completing a Diploma in Chemical Engineering at the Technological University in Budapest, George Szekeres worked in a leather factory in Hungary for several years. He and his wife Esther then fled to China in 1939 to escape the rising anti-Semitism in Europe. He soon took up a job working as a leather chemist and then in an American air force base as a clerk.

In 1948 the University of Adelaide offered Szekeres a post as Lecturer in Mathematics. That was the start of his career in academia in Australia which lasted just under thirty years. He remained at the University of Adelaide until 1963, when he took up a Professorship in Pure Mathematics at the University of New South Wales. He retired from all academic duties in 1976 and the following year, the university bestowed him with an Honorary Doctor of Science.

George Szekeres was a highly regarded and awarded scientist: The Australian Mathematical Society created the George Szekeres Medal in his honour in 2001 and in 2002 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Chronology

1933 - 1939

Career position - Industrial employment in Hungary

1939 - 1948

Career position - Industrial employment in Shanghai, China

1948 - 1963

Career position - Lecturer then Senior Lecturer then Reader in Mathematics at the University of Adelaide

1956 - 2005

Career position - Founding Member, Australian Mathematical Society

1961 - 1963

Career position - Member of Council, Australian Mathematical Society

1963 -

Award - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1963 - 1976

Career position - Professor of Mathematics at the University of New South Wales

1968

Award - Lyle Medal received from the Australian Academy of Science

1971 - 1975

Career position - Member of Council, Australian Mathematical Society

1972 - 1974

Career position - President of the Australian Mathematical Society

1976

Life event - Retired

1977

Award - Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of New South Wales

1993

Award - B. H. Neumann Award for Excellence in Mathematics Enrichment (jointly), Australian Mathematics Trust

2001

Award - George Szekeres Medal of the Australian Mathematical Society created in his honour

2001

Award - Centenary Medal for service to Australian society and science in pure mathematics

2002

Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to mathematics and science, particularly as a contributor to education and research, to the support and development of the University of New South Wales Mathematics Competition and the Australian Mathematical Olympiad Team

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• 'Obituaries', Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, 63 (August-November) (2005), 10-11. Details
• Cowling, M. G.; Hunt, D. C.; and Steele, J. D., 'George Szekeres 1911 - 2005', Historical Records of Australian Science, 30 (1) (2019), 49-57. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR18012. Details
• Cowling, Michael, 'George Szekeres FAA AO 29.5.1911 - 28/8/2005: Esther Szekeres-Klein 20/2/1910 - 28/8/2005', Gazette of the Australian Mathematical Society, 32 (4) (2005), 221-4. Details
• Giles, J. R.; and Wallis, Jennifer Seberry, 'George Szekeres', Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society Series A, 21 (1976), 385-92. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q177504. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/121484057. Details
• 'Szekeres, George (1911-2005)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1254819. Details

Resource Sections

• Jubb, Imogen, 'Interview with Professor George Szekeres (1911-2005)', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 2004, http://www.science.org.au/scientists/interviews/s/szekeres.html. Details

See also

• Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 2023. https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/awards-and-opportunities/thomas-ranken-lyle-medal. Details
• Hirschfeld, J. W. P.; and Wall, G. E., 'Thomas Gerald Room 1902-1986', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (1) (1987), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9870710109. Details