Mark Kac

Mark Kac
Born	(1914-08-03)August 3, 1914 Krzemieniec, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)
Died	October 26, 1984(1984-10-26) (aged 70) California, U.S.
Nationality	Polish
Citizenship	Poland, USA
Alma mater	Lwów University
Known for	Feynman–Kac formula Erdős–Kac theorem Kac–Bernstein theorem Kac's lemma Kac process Kac ring
Awards	Chauvenet Prize (1950, 1968) Birkhoff Prize (1978)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	Cornell University Rockefeller University University of Southern California
Doctoral advisor	Hugo Steinhaus
Doctoral students	Harry Kesten William LeVeque William Newcomb Lonnie Cross Daniel B. Ray Murray Rosenblatt Daniel Stroock

Mark Kac (/kɑːts/ KAHTS; Polish: Marek Kac; August 3, 1914 – October 26, 1984) was a Polish American mathematician. His main interest was probability theory. His question, "Can one hear the shape of a drum?" set off research into spectral theory, the idea of understanding the extent to which the spectrum allows one to read back the geometry. In the end, the answer was generally "no".