mathematics

Konrad Voss

Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss rather than just read about it. In short: Konrad Voss (August 9, 1928 – March 30, 2017) was a German mathematician and a professor in Switzerland, at ETH Zurich. Life Konrad Voss was born on August 9, 1928 in Berlin.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Konrad Voss (August 9, 1928 – March 30, 2017) was a German mathematician and a professor in Switzerland, at ETH Zurich.

Life Konrad Voss was born on August 9, 1928 in Berlin. His studies were interrupted by World War II, after which he studied for two terms at the University of Berlin before continuing his studies at ETH Zurich beginning in 1948. He received a degree there in 1951, after which he worked as an assistant to Beno Eckmann. He defended his doctoral dissertation on differential geometry, Einige differentialgeometrische Kongruenzsätze für geschlossene Flächen und Hyperflächen, in 1955, with Heinz Hopf and Albert Pfluger as his examiners. As early as 1960, the Federal Council appointed him assistant professor of mathematics, in particular geometry in German, at ETH Zurich. After only three years, Konrad Voss was promoted to full professor, and his professorship was later renamed the Professorship of Mathematics. For several years he also held the post of head of the department of mathematics and physics. He retired in 1995, and died on March 30, 2017.

Research One of Voss's research contributions concerns the Osserman–Xavier–Fujimoto theorem, according to which the Gauss map of a geodesically complete and non-flat minimal surface covers the sphere, except for at most four points. Voss proved that this result is optimal, by finding minimal surfaces whose Gauss maps cover every subset of the sphere obtained by removing at most four points.

References

External links Konrad Voss in the database zbMATH Konrad Voss: Mathematik - Königin der Wissenschaften?. Farewell lecture. Video portal of ETH Zurich, February 1, 1996.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Konrad Voss

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss

In research: Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss 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: Konrad Voss is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1928 births, 2017 deaths, ETH Zurich, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Konrad Voss 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.

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How to study Konrad Voss in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Konrad Voss in simple terms?

Konrad Voss (August 9, 1928 – March 30, 2017) was a German mathematician and a professor in Switzerland, at ETH Zurich. Life Konrad Voss was born on August 9, 1928 in Berlin.

Why does Konrad Voss 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 Konrad Voss?

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 Konrad Voss.