Irvin Cohen

Irvin S. Cohen
Born1917
Died14 February 1955
NationalityAmerican
Alma materJohns Hopkins University (Ph.D., 1942)
Known forCohen-Macaulay rings, Cohen structure theorem, Cohen-Seidenberg theorems, unmixedness theorem, Cohen rings
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Doctoral advisorOscar Zariski
Doctoral studentsR. Duncan Luce

Irvin Sol Cohen (1917 – February 14, 1955) was an American mathematician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who worked on local rings. He was a student of Oscar Zariski at Johns Hopkins University.

In his thesis he proved the Cohen structure theorem for complete Noetherian local rings.[1] In 1946 he proved the unmixedness theorem for power series rings. As a result, Cohen–Macaulay rings are named after him and Francis Sowerby Macaulay.

Cohen and Abraham Seidenberg published their Cohen–Seidenberg theorems, also known as the going-up and going-down theorems. He also coauthored articles with Irving Kaplansky. One of his doctoral students was R. Duncan Luce.