Why Does Ramanujan, “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” Matter?

Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of the most inspirational figures in the history of mathematics, was an amateur gifted mathematician from lush south India who left behind three notebooks that engineers, mathematicians, and physicists continue to mine today. Born in 1887, Ramanujan was a two-time college dropout. He could have easily been lost to the world, a thought that scientists cannot begin to absorb. He died in 1920. Prof. Ono will explain why Ramanujan matters today and will share several clips from the film, “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” starring Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons. Professor Ono served as an associate producer and mathematical consultant for the film.

About the Speaker:
Prof. Ken Ono  is the Thomas Jefferson Professor of Mathematics at the University of Virginia, the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics at Emory University and Vice President of the American Mathematical Society. He is considered an expert in number theory. His contributions include several monographs and more than 180 research and popular articles in number theory, combinatorics and algebra. He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA and has received many awards for his research in number theory, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Packard Fellowship and a Sloan Research Fellowship. He was awarded a Presidential Career Award for Science and Engineering (PECASE) by Bill Clinton in 2000 and was named a Distinguished Teaching Scholar by the National Science Foundation in 2005. He is also a member of the US National Committee for Mathematics and the National Academy of Sciences. He was an associate producer of the film “The Man Who Knew Infinity” based on the life of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.