POWER

The Power of Mathematics

John Conway, F.R.S.
  Mathematics Department
  Princeton University

John H. Conway is von Neumann Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University. Educated at Cambridge University, he served on the Mathematics faculty there prior to joining Princeton in 1986.

He is one of the preeminent theorists in the study of finite groups (the mathematical abstraction of symmetry) and one of the world's foremost knot theorists. In his many books and journal articles he has broken new ground in number theory, game theory, coding theory, tiling, and the creation of new number systems. The system of "Surreal Numbers" which he invented is the subject of a popular book by computer scientist Donald Knuth.

Beyond the academic world Conway is widely known as the inventor of the "Game of Life". He may well have the distinction of having more books, articles and Web pages devoted to his creations than any other living mathematician.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and received the Polya Prize of the London Mathematical Society and the 1998 Frederic Esser Nemmers Prize in Mathematics.

Biography provided by www.cs.ualberta.ca;