Person: Stampacchia, Guido
Guido Stampacchia was an Italian mathematician who worked on the calculus of variations and elliptic partial differential equations.
Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):
- When Guido was thirteen years old, Mussolini decided to send Italian armies into Ethiopia.
- Stampacchia attended the Liceo-Ginnasio Gian Battista Vico in Naples where he studied classics but excelled in mathematics and physics.
- On 1 October the British 5th Army entered Naples and after the Allies were in control Stampacchia returned to the city.
- Now once Stampacchia was in Naples, despite having to undertake duties for the Liberation Army, he was able to take advantage of a special dispensation which allowed students to complete their degrees.
- Stampacchia was now offered a position in Pisa but declined the offer and accepted instead a position as an assistant at the Naval Institute at Naples.
- Stampacchia felt that contact with Caccioppoli and Miranda was important for him, and Tonelli advised him to take this route, hence his decision to accept the position in Naples.
- From the time Stampacchia took up his appointment in Naples, his research output was impressive consisting mainly of papers on differential equations and the calculus of variations.
- With an impressive research record, Stampacchia was appointed as an assistant to the Professor of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Naples in July 1949.
- Stampacchia was nominated for a Professorship at the University of Genoa in December 1952.
- Rome suffered badly in this respect and Stampacchia found that he could not provide the leadership he wished to give since many of the teaching staff joined with the students in their protests.
- He was advised to reduce his workload when he returned to his duties but Stampacchia was never one to take things easy and he ignored this medical advice and returned to work as hard as ever.
- One of the main projects Stampacchia had undertaken during his period as professor of Higher Analysis in Pisa was to work on a book on variational inequalities.
- Stampacchia was motivated by potential theory, while Fichera was motivated by mechanics.
- The personality of Stampacchia was both strong and simple, open and helpful.
Born 26 March 1922, Naples, Italy. Died 27 April 1978, Paris, France.
View full biography at MacTutor
Tags relevant for this person:
Origin Italy
Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0! 
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- non-Github:
- @J-J-O'Connor
- @E-F-Robertson
References
Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:
- O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
