‘Outsiders’ Crack 50-Year-Old Math Problem

Three computer scientists, Nikhil Srivastava, former Visitor in the School of Mathematics; Adam Marcus, former von Neumann Fellow in the School; and Daniel Spielman have solved a longstanding problem initially posed by former Institute Members Richard V. Kadison and Isadore Singer in 1959. Their proof of the Kadison-Singer problem addresses one of the paramount problems in C*-algebras and a host of other mathematical fields.