Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professorship Established at IAS
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The Institute for Advanced Study is delighted to announce the establishment of the Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professorship in the School of Mathematics, thanks to the generosity of former Mathematics Member (1968–69), Andrew Ogg. The new professorship is named in honor of Ogg’s parents. Jacob Lurie, Professor in the School, has been selected as the inaugural Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professor.
“We are extremely grateful for Andrew’s generous gift to the Institute,” stated David Nirenberg, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor. “It is always especially meaningful when an alumnus of our program and a distinguished scholar is moved to support the research of future generations at the Institute. The Ogg family has been contributing to mathematics and to the transmission of knowledge for nearly a century, and through the Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professorship, it will continue to do so for centuries more.”
Frank Ogg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico in 1922. He gained a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, both in mathematics, in 1924 and 1927 respectively. He joined the department of mathematics at the then-Bowling Green State College in 1931. He became a professor in 1939 and was chairman of the department from 1948 until 1965. In honor of his decades of service, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), as it is now known, dedicated the Frank C. Ogg Library of Mathematics and Science after his retirement in 1969.
His wife, Florence Ogg, entered Eastern Illinois State University in 1919, having achieved the highest score on the entrance examination in the school’s history. She majored in astronomy and minored in mathematics. After graduating in 1923, she began graduate study in mathematics at the University of Illinois, earning her master's degree in 1926. She completed the course work for her doctorate in 1931. For many years, she taught mathematics for elementary and secondary teachers at BGSU.
Following in his parents’ footsteps, Andrew Ogg received his undergraduate degree in the 1950s at BGSU. He received his Ph.D. in 1961 from Harvard University, under the supervision of former Mathematics Member (1959–60), John Tate. Ogg himself joined IAS as a Member in the School of Mathematics in 1969. During his time at IAS, he was mentored by Faculty member André Weil. His scholarship touches on the fields of number theory, elliptic curves, and modular forms. His accomplishments include the Grothendieck–Ogg–Shafarevich formula; Ogg’s formula for the conductor of an elliptic curve; the Néron–Ogg–Shafarevich criterion; and the 1975 characterization of supersingular primes, the starting point for the theory of monstrous moonshine. He currently serves as Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley.
“I’m honored to be the first to hold the Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Professorship in the School of Mathematics,” remarked Lurie. “Andrew Ogg is a terrific mathematician, who has made valuable contributions to algebra and number theory. I am grateful for his generous support of the Institute and the work we do here.”
Ogg has been a valued benefactor of the Institute since 2010, supporting the Chern Membership Fund, Mathematics Operating Fund, Association of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study (AMIAS) Fund, and the AMIAS School of Mathematics Fund. A celebration in honor of the new professorship will be held on the Institute campus on October 13, 2022.
About the Institute
The Institute for Advanced Study has served the world as one of the leading independent centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry since its establishment in 1930, advancing the frontiers of knowledge across the sciences and humanities. From the work of founding IAS faculty such as Albert Einstein and John von Neumann to that of the foremost thinkers of the present, the IAS is dedicated to enabling curiosity-driven exploration and fundamental discovery.
Each year, the Institute welcomes more than 200 of the world’s most promising post-doctoral researchers and scholars who are selected and mentored by a permanent Faculty, each of whom are preeminent leaders in their fields. Among present and past Faculty and Members there have been 35 Nobel Laureates, 44 of the 62 Fields Medalists, and 22 of the 25 Abel Prize Laureates, as well as many MacArthur Fellows and Wolf Prize winners.
