Mehdi Behzad

Mehdi Behzad
Born (1936-04-22) April 22, 1936 (age 88)
Iran
Alma materMichigan State University
Known forTotal Chromatic Number Conjecture
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics, Graph Theory
Thesis Graphs and their Chromatic Numbers[1][2]  (1965)

Mehdi Behzad (Persian:مهدی بهزاد; born April 22, 1936) is an Iranian mathematician specializing in graph theory. He introduced his total coloring theory (also known as "Behzad's conjecture" or "the total chromatic number conjecture") during his Ph.D. studies in 1965.[3] Despite the active work during the last 50 years[4] this conjecture remains as challenging as it is open.[5] In fact, Behzad's conjecture now belongs to mathematics’ classic open problems.[6]

Behzad has been instrumental in institutionalizing mathematics education and popularization of mathematics in Iran, and has received numerous awards and recognition for his lifetime service to the Iranian scientific community.

  1. ^ Shahmohamad, Hossein (2011). "The History of the Total Chromatic Number Conjecture". arXiv:1104.3170 [math.CO].
  2. ^ Soifer, Alexander (13 October 2008). The Mathematical Coloring Book: Mathematics of Coloring and the Colorful Life of its Creators. ISBN 9780387746425.
  3. ^ M. Behzad, Graphs and Their Chromatic Numbers, Michigan State University, Department of Mathematics, 1965, 124 pages.
  4. ^ H. P. Yap, Total Colouring of Graphs, Springer, 2009, 131 pages.
  5. ^ Bondy, Adrian (2014). "Beautiful conjectures in graph theory". European Journal of Combinatorics. 37: 4–23. doi:10.1016/j.ejc.2013.07.006.
  6. ^ Alexander Soifer, The Mathematical Coloring Book, Springer, 2009, 607 pages.