Frank Harary
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Frank Harary (March 11, 1921 – January 4, 2005) was a prolific American mathematician, who specialized in graph theory. Among the more than 700 scholarly articles Harary authored, two were co-authored with Paul Erdős[1], giving Harary an Erdős number of 1.
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[edit] Mathematics
Harary's work in graph theory was diverse. Some topics of great interest to him were:
- Graphical enumeration, that is, counting graphs of a specified kind. He coauthored a book on the subject (Harary and Palmer 1973). The main difficulty is that two graphs that are isomorphic are not counted twice; thus, one has to apply Polya's theory of counting under group action. Harary was an expert in this.
- Signed graphs. Harary invented this branch of graph theory [1], which grew out of a problem of theoretical social psychology investigated by the psychologist Dorwin Cartwright and Harary [2]
- Applications of graph theory in numerous areas.
[edit] Personality
Graph theorists often say that Harary partitioned the field into people who liked him and people who didn't. He held strong opinions about mathematics that some supported (mostly his co-authors, of which there are many) and many opposed. He referred to himself as "Mr. Graph Theory" while at the University of Michigan.[citation needed]
He was known for his clear, concise style and quick thinking. In one instance, he is purported to have written a publishable paper, in one sitting, with two others at a cocktail party.[citation needed] Lore also claims that, when asked to referee, Harary rejected any paper that did not contain a picture.[citation needed]
[edit] Bibliography
- Harary, Frank, Graph Theory (1969), Addison–Wesley, Reading, MA.
- Harary, Frank, and Palmer, Edgar M., Graphical Enumeration (1973), Academic Press, New York, NY.
[edit] References
- ^ Harary, F. (1953-54), On the notion of balance of a signed graph. Michigan Math. Journal, vol. 2, pp. 143-146 and addendum preceding p. 1.
- ^ Cartwright, D. and Harary, F. (1956), Structural balance: a generalization of Heider's theory. Psychological Review, vol. 63, pp. 277-293.
