Kenneth Kunen
Herbert Kenneth Kunen is an emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who works in set theory and its applications to various areas of mathematics, such as set-theoretic topology and measure theory. He also works on non-associative algebraic systems, such as loops, and uses computer software, such as the Otter theorem prover, to derive theorems in these areas.
Kunen showed that if there exists a nontrivial elementary embedding j : L → L of the constructible universe, then 0# exists.
He proved the consistency of a normal, -saturated ideal on from the consistency of the existence of a huge cardinal. He introduced the method of iterated ultrapowers, with which he proved that if is a measurable cardinal with or is a strongly compact cardinal then there is an inner model of set theory with many measurable cardinals. He proved Kunen's inconsistency theorem showing the impossibility of a nontrivial elementary embedding, which had been suggested as a large cardinal assumption.
Away from the area of large cardinals, Kunen is known for intricate forcing and combinatorial constructions. He proved that it is consistent that Martin's axiom first fails at a singular cardinal and constructed
under the continuum hypothesis a compact L-space supporting a nonseparable measure. He also showed that has no increasing chain of length in the standard Cohen model
where the continuum is. The concept of a Jech–Kunen tree is named after him and Thomas Jech.
Kunen completed his undergraduate degree at the California Institute of Technology and received his Ph.D. in 1968 from Stanford University, where he was supervised by Dana Scott.Personal life
Kunen was born in New York in 1943. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife Anne. They have two sons, Isaac and Adam.
