Mathematics
In mathematics, Smith's most notable achievement is the construction of what has been called the Smith generic cyclic polynomial. For any integer n not divisible by eight, this constructs a polynomial which, upon specializing the values, gives all of the cyclic extensions of any given base field with characteristic prime to n. This can then be extended to metacyclic extensions, such as dihedral groups.
Smith was also a member of the Amdahl Six group, which held the record for the largest known prime number from 1989-1992.
Read more about this topic: Gene Ward Smith
Famous quotes containing the word mathematics:
“Why does man freeze to death trying to reach the North Pole? Why does man drive himself to suffer the steam and heat of the Amazon? Why does he stagger his mind with the mathematics of the sky? Once the question mark has arisen in the human brain the answer must be found, if it takes a hundred years. A thousand years.”
—Walter Reisch (1903–1963)