Valentin Poénaru

Valentin Alexandre Poénaru (born 1932) is a Professor of Mathematics at Université de Paris-Sud. He specializes in low-dimensional topology.

Born in Romania, he did his undergraduate studies at the University of Bucharest. In 1962, he was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Stockholm, Sweden. While at the congress, Poénaru defected, subsequently leaving for France. He defended his Thèse d'État at the University of Paris on March 23, 1963. His dissertation topic was Sur les variétés tridimensionnelles ayant le type d'homotopie de la sphère S₃, and was written under the supervision of Charles Ehresmann. After that, he went to the United States, spending four years at Harvard University and Princeton University. In 1967, he returned to France.

Poénaru has worked for several decades on a proof of the Poincaré conjecture, making a number of related breakthroughs. His first attempt at proving the conjecture dates from 1957. He has described his general approach over the years in different papers and conferences. On December 19, 2006, he posted a preprint to the arXiv, claiming to have finally completed the details of his approach and proven the conjecture.

Works

• arXiv:math.GT/0612554 On the 3-Dimensional Poincaré Conjecture and the 4-Dimensional Smooth Schoenflies Problem.
• Sur les variétés tridimensionnelles ayant le type d'homotopie de la sphère S₃ Séminaire Ehresmann, Topologie et géométrie différentielle, 6 (1964), Exposé No. 1, 67 p.
• Produits cartésiens de variétés différentielles par un disque, 1963 Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians (Stockholm, 1962), pp. 481–489, Mittag-Leffler Institute, Djursholm.
• "La classification des immersions combinatoires." Publications Mathématiques de l'IHÉS 23 (1964): 75-91. with André Haefliger.

See also

• Poénaru conjecture
• List of Eastern Bloc defectors

References

• David Gabai, Valentin Poenaru's program for the Poincaré conjecture. Geometry, topology, & physics, 139—166, Conf. Proc. Lecture Notes Geom. Topology, IV, Int. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1995.

External links

• Valentin Poénaru at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
• Terza e quarta dimensione: un mistero da svelare, interview by Marinella Daidone from Università degli Studi di Trento, Unitn, no. 52, April, 2003.