Bruce Pourciau, professor of mathematics, came to Lawrence in 1976, specializing in the study of necessary conditions in infinite dimensional optimization theory, and he continued to work in that area over the next 15 years, until a scholarly partnership with another Bruce led him in an intriguing new direction.
As he tells it: “In the fall of 1990, the late Bruce Brackenridge, professor of physics and an historian of science, asked if I could answer a certain mathematical question arising out of Isaac Newton’s great work, The Principia. Once lured into Newton’s mind and work, I was hooked, and ever since I have been joyfully investigating the mathematical and logical foundations of The Principia, with time out now and then for studies in the philosophy of mathematics.”
Professor Pourciau recently published “The Importance of Being Equivalent: Newton’s Two Models for One-Body Motion,” in Archive for History of Exact Sciences. That article and his article, “Newton’s Argument for Proposition 1 of The Principia,” published a year ago in Archive for History of Exact Sciences, have been selected to be reprinted in the forthcoming volume, Infinitesimals, edited by William Harper and Wayne Myrvold.
Recipient of Lawrence’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2000, he currently teaches upper-level courses in algebra, analysis, and topology, as well as first-year calculus courses.
Read more about Professor Pourciau
- "Two Lawrence University Professors Cited for Outstanding Teaching"
- "Seduced by the liberal arts: Sir Isaac and the two Bruces"
View other faculty profiles from the president's annual report
