In loving memory of
Sir Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones KNZM FRS FRSNZ FAA
Born: 31st of Dec 1952 | Passed: 6th of Sep 2020
Aged: 67
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About Sir Vaughan
First Name
Sir Vaughan
Middle Name
Frederick Randal
Last Name
Jones KNZM FRS FRSNZ FAA
City of Passing
Country of Passing
Date of Birth
31st of Dec 1952
Date of Passing
6th of Sep 2020
Age
67
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Career
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Biography
Sir Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones KNZM FRS FRSNZ FAA (31 December 1952 – 6 September 2020) was a New Zealand mathematician known for his work on von Neumann algebras and knot polynomials. He was awarded a Fields Medal in 1990 and famously wore a New Zealand rugby jersey when he gave his acceptance speech in Kyoto.
Early life
Jones was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, on 31 December 1952. He was brought up in Cambridge, New Zealand, where he attended St Peter’s School. He subsequently transferred to Auckland Grammar School after winning the Gillies Scholarship, and graduated in 1966. He went on to complete his undergraduate studies at the University of Auckland, obtaining a BSc in 1972 and an MSc in 1973. For his graduate studies, he went to Switzerland, where he completed his PhD at the University of Geneva in 1979. His thesis, titled Actions of finite groups on the hyperfinite II1 factor, was written under the supervision of André Haefliger, and won him the Vacheron Constantin Prize.
Career
Jones moved to the United States in 1980. There, he taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (1980–1981) and the University of Pennsylvania (1981–1985), before being appointed as Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. His work on knot polynomials, with the discovery of what is now called the Jones polynomial, was from an unexpected direction with origins in the theory of von Neumann algebras,[2] an area of analysis already much developed by Alain Connes. It led to the solution of a number of classical problems of knot theory, and to increased interest in low-dimensional topology.
Jones taught at Vanderbilt University as Stevenson Distinguished Professor of mathematics from 2011 until his death. He remained Professor Emeritus at University of California, Berkeley, where he had been on the faculty since 1985 and was a Distinguished Alumni Professor at the University of Auckland.
Jones was made an honorary vice-president for life of the International Guild of Knot Tyers in 1992. The Jones Medal, created by the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2010, is named after him.
Personal life
Jones met his wife, Martha Myers, during a ski camp for foreign students while they were studying in Switzerland. She was there as a Fulbright scholar, and subsequently became an associate professor of medicine, health and society. Together, they had three children.
Jones died on 6 September 2020, at age 67; he had suffered from health complications after suffering a severe ear infection.