Mandelbrot, Benoit (1924-2010), a Polish-born American mathematician, founded a branch of geometry called fractal geometry. Fractal geometry involves the study of fractals, complex geometric figures made up of patterns that repeat themselves at smaller and smaller scales. Fractals provide a mathematical description for many irregular and complicated shapes that occur in nature, such as coastlines and clouds. People have used fractal geometry to study widely different subjects, such as the distribution of galaxies in the universe, the flow of fluids, and fluctuations in the prices of goods. In addition, fractals have been used in graphic art as well as movie, television, and video game special effects.
Mandelbrot was born on Nov. 20, 1924, in Warsaw, Poland. His family moved to France in 1936 to escape the persecution of the Jews. Mandelbrot studied at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. In 1952, he received his doctorate from the University of Paris. From 1949 to 1957, he worked at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris. He also made visits to work in the United States and Switzerland during this time. In 1958, he joined the staff of International Business Machines Corporation’s (IBM’s) Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, and he settled in the United States. In 1987, he was appointed professor of mathematical sciences at Yale University.
Mandelbrot worked on a number of mathematical subjects. His work on fractal geometry began with an interest in self-similarity, a property of geometric figures that have a similar appearance when viewed at different scales. In his paper “How Long is the Coast of Britain?”, published in Science magazine in 1967, he described the phenomenon of self-similarity in the country’s coastline. In 1975, he coined the term fractal to describe repeating self-similar patterns.
Mandelbrot’s work has also shown how a simple equation can give rise to complex patterns like those found in nature. An example is the Mandelbrot set, a set of numbers generated from a simple mathematical equation that describes a pattern resembling an ink splash. When graphed on a computer at increasing magnifications, the set reveals a series of patterns that are similar but which differ slightly in detail.
Mandelbrot was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities. His awards include the Humboldt Prize (Germany, 1988), the Steinmetz Medal (United States, 1988), the Legion of Honor (France, 1989), the Wolf Foundation Prize (Israel, 1993), and the Honda Prize (Japan, 1994). His publications include Fractals: Form, Chance, and Dimension (1977) and The Fractal Geometry of Nature (1982). Mandelbrot died on Oct. 14, 2010.
See also Fractal .
