Robert Coleman
Science Talent Search – 1972
About Robert Coleman*
Robert Coleman was a professor at UC Berkeley for 30 years and a mathematician focused on algebraic geometry and number theory. Coleman competed in STS in 1972 with a project about mathematical relations in mapmaking. In his career, his contributions to p-adic analysis earned him a MacArthur Fellowship in 1987. Two years earlier, Coleman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In spite of the illness, Coleman continued his work in mathematics, and became an outspoken advocate for people with disabilities until he passed on March 24, 2014.
* = Deceased
Science Talent Search
Robert Coleman (seated just below the first standing finalist on the left) and his fellow STS finalists in Washington, D.C. in 1972.
Coleman devoted much of his time and passion for teaching to shaping the next generation of mathematicians.