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Sze-Tsen Hu

Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu rather than just read about it. In short: Sze-Tsen Hu (Chinese: 胡世楨; pinyin: Hú Shìzhēn; Wade–Giles: Hu Shih-chen; 9 October 1914 – 6 May 1999), also known as Steve Hu, was a Chinese-American mathematician, specializing in homotopy theory. Hu received his B.S. from the National Central University in Nanking, China in 1938 and his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, England in 1947 with thesis advisor Max Newman.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sze-Tsen Hu (Chinese: 胡世楨; pinyin: Hú Shìzhēn; Wade–Giles: Hu Shih-chen; 9 October 1914 – 6 May 1999), also known as Steve Hu, was a Chinese-American mathematician, specializing in homotopy theory. Hu received his B.S. from the National Central University in Nanking, China in 1938 and his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, England in 1947 with thesis advisor Max Newman. Hu held a visiting lectureship at Tulane University for 1949–1950 and was a visiting scholar from 1950 to 1952 at the Institute for Advanced Study. He was an associate professor at Tulane University in 1952–1955, a professor in 1955–1956 at the University of Georgia, and from 1956 to the end of 1959 a professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. In January 1960 he became a professor at UCLA, where he remained until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1982. He was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1950 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was elected in 1966 to the Academica Sinica (Taiwan). He was survived by his second wife, his son, and his daughter.

Selected works

Articles Hu, Sze-Tsen (January 1949). "Extension and classification of the mappings of a finite complex into a topological group or an n-sphere". Annals of Mathematics. 50 (1): 158–173. doi:10.2307/1969359. JSTOR 1969359. Hu, Sze-Tsen (1950). "On generalising the notion of fibre spaces to include the fibre bundles". Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 1 (6): 756–762. doi:10.1090/s0002-9939-1950-0038657-8. MR 0038657. Hu, Sze-Tsen (1951). "The equivalence of fiber bundles". Annals of Mathematics. 53 (2): 256–275. doi:10.2307/1969542. JSTOR 1969542. Hu, Sze-Tsen (1952). "On local structure of finite–dimensional groups". Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 73 (3): 383–400. doi:10.1090/s0002-9947-1952-0053118-4. MR 0053118. Hu, Sze-Tsen (July 1953). "The homotopy addition theorem". Annals of Mathematics. 58 (1): 108–122. doi:10.2307/1969822. JSTOR 1969822. Hu, Sze-Tsen (1956). "Axiomatic approach to the homotopy groups". Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 62 (5): 490–504. doi:10.1090/s0002-9904-1956-10038-4. MR 0080304.

Books Introduction to Homological Algebra. San Francisco: Holden Day. 1968. Homotopy theory. Academic Press. 1959. ISBN 9780123584502. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) Threshold Logic. University of California Press. 1965. ISBN 9780262040099. Introduction to General Topology. San Francisco: Holden Day. 1966. Homology theory. San Francisco: Holden Day. 1966. Cohomology theory. Chicago: Markham. 1968. Mathematical Theory of Switching Circuits and Automata. University of California Press. 1968. Differentiable Manifolds. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1969.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sze-Tsen Hu

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu

In research
Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu 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
Sze-Tsen Hu is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1914 births, 1999 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Sze-Tsen Hu means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Sze-Tsen Hu out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sze-Tsen Hu in simple terms?

Sze-Tsen Hu (Chinese: 胡世楨; pinyin: Hú Shìzhēn; Wade–Giles: Hu Shih-chen; 9 October 1914 – 6 May 1999), also known as Steve Hu, was a Chinese-American mathematician, specializing in homotopy theory. Hu received his B.S. from the National Central University in Nanking, China in 1938 and his Ph.D. fro…

Why does Sze-Tsen Hu 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 Sze-Tsen Hu?

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 Sze-Tsen Hu.

Tags

  • 1914 births
  • 1999 deaths
  • 20th-century American mathematicians
  • Alumni of the University of Manchester
  • Chinese emigrants to the United States
  • Educators from Huzhou
  • Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars
  • Mathematicians from Zhejiang
  • Members of Academia Sinica
  • National Central University alumni
  • Scientists from Huzhou
  • Topologists

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