Leo Moser

Leo Moser
Born	(1921-04-11)11 April 1921 Vienna, Austria
Died	9 February 1970(1970-02-09) (aged 48) Edmonton, Canada
Alma mater	University of Manitoba University of Toronto University of North Carolina
Known for	Moser spindle Moser's circle problem Moser's worm problem Moser–de Bruijn sequence Erdős–Moser equation Lambek–Moser theorem Steinhaus–Moser notation Moving sofa problem Pancyclic graph
Scientific career
Institutions	University of Alberta Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Doctoral advisor	Alfred Brauer

Leo Moser (11 April 1921, Vienna – 9 February 1970, Edmonton) was an Austrian-Canadian mathematician, best known for his polygon notation.

A native of Vienna, Leo Moser immigrated with his parents to Canada at the age of three. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba in 1943, and a Master of Science from the University of Toronto in 1945. After two years of teaching he went to the University of North Carolina to complete a PhD, supervised by Alfred Brauer.^[1] There, in 1950, he began suffering recurrent heart problems. He took a position at Texas Technical College for one year, and joined the faculty of the University of Alberta in 1951, where he remained until his death at the age of 48.

In 1966, Moser posed the question "What is the region of smallest area which will accommodate every planar arc of length one?".^[2] Rephrased to consider the planar arc a "worm", this became known as Moser's worm problem^[3] and as of 2024 remains an open problem.

See also

• Bell number
• Berlekamp switching game
• Salem–Spencer set
• Secretary problem
• Tournament (graph theory)
• Erdős distinct distances problem

References

1. Leo Moser at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
2. W. Moser, G. Bloind, V. Klee, C. Rousseau, J. Goodman, B. Monson, J. Wetzel, L. M. Kelly7, G. Purdy, and J Wilker, Fifth edition, Problems in Discrete Geometry, McGill University, Montreal, 1980
3. Brass, Peter; Moser, William O. J.; Pach, János (2010-10-29). Research Problems in Discrete Geometry. Springer. p. 458. ISBN 978-1-4419-2016-4.

External links

• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Leo Moser", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
• Posthumous biographical appreciation, dated May 19, 1970 Archived, by mathematician Max Wyman, president of the University of Alberta from 1969 to 1974
• Comprehensive list of 88 papers, lectures and other works authored by Leo Moser Archived
• April 1961 photograph of Leo Moser Archived