mathematics

Károly Bezdek

Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek rather than just read about it. In short: Károly Bezdek (born May 28, 1955, in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian-Canadian mathematician. He is a professor as well as a Canada Research Chair of mathematics and the director of the Centre for Computational and Discrete Geometry at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Károly Bezdek (born May 28, 1955, in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian-Canadian mathematician. He is a professor as well as a Canada Research Chair of mathematics and the director of the Centre for Computational and Discrete Geometry at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Also he is a professor (on leave) of mathematics at the University of Pannonia in Veszprém, Hungary. His main research interests are in geometry in particular, in combinatorial, computational, convex, and discrete geometry. He has authored 3 books and more than 130 research papers. He is a founding Editor-in-Chief of the e-journal Contributions to Discrete Mathematics (CDM).

Early life and family Károly Bezdek was born in Budapest, Hungary, but grew up in Dunaújváros, Hungary. His parents are Károly Bezdek Sr. (mechanical engineer) and Magdolna Cserey. His brother András Bezdek is also a mathematician. Károly and his brother have scored at the top level in several Mathematics and Physics competitions for high school and university students in Hungary. Károly's list of awards include winning the first prize in the traditional KöMal (Hungarian Math. Journal for Highschool Students) contest in the academic year 1972–1973, as well as winning the first prize for the research results presented at the National Science Conference for Hungarian Undergraduate Students (TDK) in 1978. Károly entered the Faculty of Science of the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, and completed his Diploma in Mathematics in 1978. Bezdek is married to Éva Bezdek, and has three sons: Dániel, Máté and Márk.

Career Károly Bezdek received his Ph.D. (1980) as well as his Habilitation degree (1997) in mathematics from Eötvös Loránd University, in Budapest, Hungary and his Candidate of Mathematical Sciences degree (1985) as well as his Doctor of Mathematical Sciences degree (1995) from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He has been a faculty member of the Department of Geometry at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest since 1978. In particular, he has been the chair of that department between 1999-2006 and a full professor between 1998 and 2012. During 1978–2003, while being on a number of special leaves from Eötvös Loránd University, he has held numerous visiting positions at research institutions in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and United States. This included a period of about 7 years at the Department of Mathematics of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Between 1998 and 2001 Bezdek was appointed a Széchenyi Professor of mathematics at Eötvös Loránd University, in Budapest, Hungary. From 2003 Károly Bezdek is the Canada Research Chair of computational and discrete geometry at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of the University of Calgary and is the director of the Center for Computational and Discrete Geometry at the University of Calgary. Between 2006 and 2010 Bezdek was an associated member of the Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics in Budapest, Hungary. From 2010 Bezdek is a full professor (on leave) at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Pannonia in Veszprém, Hungary. Between July–December, 2011 Bezdek was a program co-chair of the 6 month thematic program on discrete geometry and its applications at the Fields Institute in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Also, he is one of the three founding editors-in-chief of the free peer-reviewed electronic journal Contributions to Discrete Mathematics.

Research interests and notable results His research interests are in combinatorial, computational, convex and discrete geometry including some aspects of geometric analysis, rigidity and optimization. He is the author of more than 130 research papers and has written three research monographs. In particular, he is known for the following works:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Károly Bezdek

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek

In research: Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek 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: Károly Bezdek is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1955 births, 20th-century Canadian mathematicians, 20th-century Hungarian mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Károly Bezdek in simple terms?

Why does Károly Bezdek 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 Károly Bezdek?

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 Károly Bezdek.