mathematics

John Erik Fornæss

John Erik Fornæss is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Erik Fornæss rather than just read about it. In short: John Erik Fornæss (born 14 October 1946, Hamar, Norway) is a Norwegian-American mathematician and author. Fornæss earned his master's degree in 1970 from the University of Oslo with the thesis Uniform approximation on manifolds and earned his PhD in 1974 from the University of Washington under Edgar Lee Stout with thesis Embedding Strictly Pseudoconvex Domains in Convex Domains.

Key takeaways

John Erik Fornæss belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Erik Fornæss to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Erik Fornæss from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John Erik Fornæss (born 14 October 1946, Hamar, Norway) is a Norwegian-American mathematician and author. Fornæss earned his master's degree in 1970 from the University of Oslo with the thesis Uniform approximation on manifolds and earned his PhD in 1974 from the University of Washington under Edgar Lee Stout with thesis Embedding Strictly Pseudoconvex Domains in Convex Domains. At Princeton University in 1974, he became an instructor, assistant professor in 1976, associate professor in 1978, and a full professor in 1981. Since 1991, he has served as a professor at the University of Michigan. He concentrates on the geometry and dynamics of functions of various complex variables in his studies. He developed a Fatou-Julia theory in two complex variables with Nessim Sibony. Additionally, he is recognized for creating a counterexample in several complex variables in 1976. Fornæss is a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. Fornæss has an Erdős number of 2.

Selected publications

Articles with Klas Diederich: Diederich K, Fornaess JE (1975). "Exhaustion functions and Stein neighborhoods for smooth pseudoconvex domains". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 72 (9): 3279–3280. doi:10.1073/pnas.72.9.3279. PMC 432973. PMID 16592273. with Klas Diederich: Diederich K, Fornaess JE (1977). "Complex submanifolds in real-analytic pseudoconvex domains". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 74 (8): 3126–3127. doi:10.1073/pnas.74.8.3126. PMC 431463. PMID 16592428.

Books with Berit Stensønes: Lectures on counterexamples in several complex variables, Mathematical Notes 33, Princeton University Press, 1987; 2nd edition 2007 as editor: Dynamics of several complex variables, American Mathematical Society 1996 as editor: Recent developments in several complex variables, Princeton University Press 1981 as editor: Several complex variables (Proceedings Mittag-Leffler Institute 1987/88), Princeton University Press 1993

References

External links Homepage

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Erik Fornæss

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Erik Fornæss claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Erik Fornæss before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Erik Fornæss ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Erik Fornæss

In research: John Erik Fornæss appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Erik Fornæss in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Erik Fornæss is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1946 births, 20th-century Norwegian mathematicians, 21st-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Erik Fornæss outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “John Erik Fornæss” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study John Erik Fornæss in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Erik Fornæss means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Erik Fornæss out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Erik Fornæss in simple terms?

Why does John Erik Fornæss matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Erik Fornæss?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Erik Fornæss.