Jin Akiyama

Jin Akiyama (Japanese: 秋山仁, born 1946) is a Japanese mathematician, known for his appearances on Japanese prime-time television (NHK) presenting magic tricks with mathematical explanations.[1] He is director of the Mathematical Education Research Center at the Tokyo University of Science, and professor emeritus at Tokai University.[2]

The native form of this personal name is Akiyama Jin. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Akiyama studied mathematics at the Tokyo University of Science,[2] where one of his mentors was Takashi Hamada. He completed a graduate degree at Sophia University under the supervision of Mitio Nagumo, in differential equations, but soon shifted his interests to graph theory. He planned to take a position in Ghana, but after conflict there caused it to be cancelled he joined the faculty at Nippon Ika University, and then moved to the U.S. for 1978 and 1979 to work with Frank Harary at the University of Michigan. In the 1990s, his interests shifted again, from graph theory to discrete geometry.[3]

Akiyama is a founder of the Japan Conference on Discrete and Computational Geometry, Graphs, and Games (JCDCG3),[3] the founding managing editor of Graphs and Combinatorics, and the author of the books A Day's Adventure in Math Wonderland (with Mari-Jo Ruiz, World Scientific, 2008),[4] Factors and Factorizations of Graphs (with Mikio Kano, Lecture Notes in Mathematics 2031, Springer, 2011),[5] and Treks Into Intuitive Geometry: The World of Polygons and Polyhedra (with Kiyoko Matsunaga, Springer, 2015).[6] He is also the namesake of a Nintendo DS game, Master Jin Jin's IQ Challenge.

Akiyama's lectures sometimes also include musical performances by him, on accordion or xylophone.[3]

References
  1. Jara, Yuly (April 25, 2014), "El mago de las matemáticas: El 'showman' japonés Jin Akiyama presenta su espectáculo divulgativo en Madrid" [The Wizard of Mathematics: The Japanese showman Jin Akiyama presents his informative show in Madrid], El Mundo.
  2. Profile, retrieved 2017-01-31.
  3. Kano, M.; Ruiz, Mari-Jo P.; Urrutia, Jorge (2007), "Jin Akiyama: a friend and his mathematics" (PDF), Graphs and Combinatorics, 23 (suppl. 1): 1–39, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.300.1275, doi:10.1007/s00373-007-0720-5, MR 2320617.
  4. Review of A Day's Adventure in Math Wonderland by Craig P. Bauer (2008), Mathematical Association of America.
  5. Review of Factors and Factorizations of Graphs by Sizhong Zhou (2012), MR2816613.
  6. Reviews of Treks into Intuitive Geometry: Jacquemet, Matthieu, zbMATH, Zbl 1339.52001CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link); Brown, Tricia Muldoon (April 2016), "Review", MAA Reviews, Mathematical Association of America; Fox, Michael (October 2017), The Mathematical Gazette, 101 (552): 565–568, doi:10.1017/mag.2017.164CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
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