Leo Moser

Leo Moser, an esteemed Austrian-Canadian mathematician, was born on April 11, 1921, in Vienna. At the tender age of three, he immigrated to Canada with his parents, where he would later carve out a remarkable academic career. Moser earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba in 1943, followed by a Master of Science from the University of Toronto in 1945.

After two years of teaching, Moser pursued a PhD at the University of North Carolina under the supervision of Alfred Brauer. His academic journey was marred by health challenges, as he began experiencing recurrent heart problems in 1950. Despite these difficulties, he briefly taught at Texas Technical College before joining the faculty at the University of Alberta in 1951, where he dedicated the remainder of his life to education and research.

Throughout his career, Moser made significant contributions to mathematics, most notably through his polygon notation. In 1966, he posed a thought-provoking question that would become known as Moser's worm problem: 'What is the region of smallest area which will accommodate every planar arc of length one?' This intriguing problem remains open as of 2024, showcasing Moser's lasting impact on the field.