Michel Kervaire

Michel Kervaire
Born(1927-04-26)26 April 1927
Died19 November 2007(2007-11-19) (aged 80)
NationalityFrench
Alma materETH Zürich
Known forKervaire invariant
Kervaire manifold
Kervaire semi-characteristic
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsNew York University
University of Geneva
Doctoral advisorHeinz Hopf
Beno Eckmann
Doctoral studentsEva Bayer-Fluckiger
Frank Quinn

Michel André Kervaire (26 April 1927 – 19 November 2007) was a French mathematician who made significant contributions to topology and algebra.

He introduced the Kervaire semi-characteristic. He was the first to show the existence of topological n-manifolds with no differentiable structure (using the Kervaire invariant), and (with John Milnor) computed the number of exotic spheres in dimensions greater than four. He is also well known for fundamental contributions to high-dimensional knot theory. The solution of the Kervaire invariant problem was announced by Michael Hopkins in Edinburgh on 21 April 2009.