{{Short description|German mathematician}}

{{Infobox scientist | name = Burkard Polster | image = | caption = | field = Mathematics | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1965|2|26}} | birth_place = Würzburg, Germany | citizenship = | alma_mater = University of Erlangen–Nuremberg | thesis_title = Stetige planare Funktionen ''[''Continuous planar functions'']'' | thesis_year = 1993 | doctoral_advisor = Karl Strambach | doctoral_students = | known_for = | website = {{URL|https://www.qedcat.com/}} | work_institutions = Monash University | prizes = | module = {{infobox social media personality | child = yes | logo = frameless|upright=0.6 | youtube_handle = Mathologer | youtube_years_active = 2015–present | youtube_subscribers = 957 thousand | youtube_views = 74 million | stats_update = 8 August 2025 }} <!-- end infobox social media personality --> }} <!-- end infobox scientist -->

'''Burkard Polster''' (born 26 February 1965 in Würzburg) is a German<ref>{{cite web |title=Burkard Polster, Mathemagician |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odM3meAgNq0 |website=YouTube |publisher=Monash University Faculty of Science |accessdate=12 June 2018 |date=5 May 2014}}</ref> mathematician who runs and presents the ''Mathologer'' channel on YouTube.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.ams.org/news?news_id=2677|publisher=American Mathematical Society|title=Mathologer|date=4 May 2015|work=News, Events, and Announcements}}</ref> He is a professor of mathematics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.<ref>{{citation|url=https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/burkard-polster|title=Burkard Polster|publisher=Monash University|work=Faculty profiles|accessdate=23 January 2018}}</ref>

== Education and career == Polster earned a doctorate from the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg in 1993 under the supervision of Karl Strambach.<ref>{{mathgenealogy|id=154436}}</ref> Other universities that Polster has been affiliated with, before joining Monash University in 2000, include the University of Würzburg, University at Albany, University of Kiel, University of California, Berkeley, University of Canterbury, and University of Adelaide.<ref>{{citation|url=http://adm.monash.edu/records-archives/archives/memo-archive/2004-2007/stories/20071017/60-seconds.html|title=60 seconds with ... Burkard Polster|date=17 October 2007|publisher=Monash University|accessdate=2018-01-23}}</ref>

Polster's research involves topics in geometry, recreational mathematics, and the mathematics of everyday life, including how to tie shoelaces<ref>{{citation|title=Seeking Perfection in Shoe Lacing, With 43,200 Choices|first=Kenneth|last=Chang|date=10 December 2002|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/10/science/seeking-perfection-in-shoe-lacing-with-43200-choices.html}}</ref> or stabilize a wobbly table.<ref>{{citation|first=Keith|last=Devlin|authorlink=Keith Devlin|work=Devlin's Angle|url=https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_02_07.html|publisher=Mathematical Association of America|date=February 2007|title=How to stabilize a wobbly table}}</ref>

==Books== Polster is the author of multiple books including: * {{cite book|title=A Geometrical Picture Book|url=https://archive.org/details/geometricalpictu0000pols|url-access=registration|isbn=0-387-98437-2|publisher=Springer|year=1998}}<ref>Review of ''A Geometrical Picture Book'': * {{citation|first=Vikram|last=Jha|year=1999|title=Review: A Geometrical Picture Book|journal=Mathematical Reviews|mr=1640615}}</ref> * {{cite book|title=Geometries on Surfaces|url=https://archive.org/details/geometriesonsurf0000pols|url-access=registration |others=with Günter Steinke|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-521-66058-0}}<ref>Review of ''Geometries on Surfaces'': * {{citation|first=Hans|last=Havlicek|year=2003|title=Review: Geometries on Surfaces|journal=Mathematical Reviews|mr=1889925}}</ref> * {{cite book|title=The Mathematics of Juggling|publisher=Springer|year=2003|isbn=0-387-95513-5}}<ref>Reviews of ''The Mathematics of Juggling'': * {{citation|first=Kevin R.|last=Burger|date=December 2003|journal=MAA Reviews|title=Review: The Mathematics of Juggling|url=https://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews/the-mathematics-of-juggling}} * {{citation|first=Hugo S.|last=Sun|year=2004|title=Review: The Mathematics of Juggling|journal=Mathematical Reviews|mr=1940029}} * {{citation|first=Allen|last=Knutson|date=January 2004|journal=Notices of the American Mathematical Society|volume=51|issue=1|pages=35–38|url=https://www.ams.org/notices/200401/rev-knutson.pdf|title=Book Review: The Mathematics of Juggling}} * {{citation|author=Matthew Macauley|title=Review: Juggling by the Numbers|date=February 2004|journal=Math Horizons|volume=11|issue=3|page=23|doi=10.1080/10724117.2004.12021756|jstor=25678460|s2cid=125318610}} </ref> * {{cite book|title=Q.E.D.: Beauty in Mathematical Proof|publisher=Wooden Books|year=2004|isbn=190426350X}}<ref>Review of ''Q.E.D.: Beauty in Mathematical Proof'': * {{citation|first=Timothy V.|last=Craine|date=April 2005|title=Review: Q.E.D.: Beauty in Mathematical Proof|journal=The Mathematics Teacher|volume=98|issue=8|page=576|jstor=27971813}}</ref> Included in the four-book compilation ''Scientia: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Astronomy for All'' (2011) and translated into German as ''Sciencia: Mathematik, Physik, Chemie, Biologie und Astronomie für alle verständlich'' (Librero, 2014, in German). * {{cite book|title=Les Ambigrammes: l'art de symétriser les mots|publisher=Editions Ecritextes|year=2004|language=French|isbn=2915633002}} * {{cite book|title=The Shoelace Book: A Mathematical Guide to the Best (and Worst) Ways to Lace Your Shoes|publisher=American Mathematical Society|year=2006|isbn=0821839330|url=https://archive.org/details/shoelacebookmath00pols}}<ref>Reviews of ''The Shoelace Book'': * {{citation|first=Colin|last=Adams|authorlink=Colin Adams (mathematician)|date=December 2007|journal=Notices of the American Mathematical Society|volume=53|issue=11|pages=1324–1326|url=https://www.ams.org/notices/200611/rev-adams.pdf|title=Book Review: The Shoelace Book}} * {{citation|first=Serge L.|last=Tabachnikov|year=2007|title=Review: The Shoelace Book|journal=Mathematical Reviews|mr=2225624}} * {{citation|first=Thomas|last=Sonnabend|date=March 2007|journal=The Mathematics Teacher|volume=100|issue=7|page=512|jstor=27972314|title=Review: The Shoelace Book}} * {{citation|first=John|last=Halton|year=2008|journal=The Mathematical Intelligencer|volume=30|issue=3|pages=70–72|title=Review: The Shoelace Book|doi=10.1007/BF02985384|s2cid=189884196 }} </ref> * {{cite book|title=Eye Twisters: Ambigrams & Other Visual Puzzles to Amaze and Entertain|publisher=Constable|year=2007|isbn=9781402757983|url=https://archive.org/details/eyetwistersambig0000pols}} * {{cite book|title=Math Goes to the Movies |others=with Marty Ross|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=2012|isbn=9781421404837}}<ref>Reviews of ''Math Goes to the Movies'': * {{citation|first=Lenny|last=Jones|title=Review: Math Goes to the Movies|journal=Mathematical Reviews|mr=2953095}} * {{citation|first=Richard J.|last=Wilders|date=September 2012|journal=MAA Reviews|title=Review: Math Goes to the Movies|url=https://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews/math-goes-to-the-movies}} * {{citation|first=Gerry|last=Leversha|date=November 2013|title=Review: Math Goes to the Movies|journal=The Mathematical Gazette|volume=97|issue=540|pages=562–563|doi=10.1017/S0025557200000498|s2cid=233359366 }} * {{citation|first=Mary|last=Gray|year=2016|title=Review: Math Goes to the Movies|journal=The Mathematical Intelligencer|volume=38|issue=1|pages=90–92|doi=10.1007/s00283-015-9574-5|s2cid=123725862}}</ref> * {{cite book|title=A Dingo Ate My Math Book: Mathematics from Down Under|others=with Marty Ross|publisher=American Mathematical Society|year=2017|isbn=9781470435219}} * {{cite book|title=Putting Two and Two Together|others=with Marty Ross|publisher=American Mathematical Society|year=2022|isbn=978-1-4704-6011-2}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1_uAIS3r8Vu6JjXWvastJg Mathologer], Polster's YouTube site *[http://www.qedcat.com/ Maths Masters], Burkard Polster and Marty Ross *[https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/burkard-polster], profile at Monash University *{{Google Scholar id|eRbvWqYAAAAJ}}

{{Authority control}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polster, Burkard}} Category:Australian mathematicians Category:20th-century German mathematicians Category:Recreational mathematicians Category:University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni Category:Academic staff of Monash University Category:Living people Category:Science-related YouTube channels Category:1965 births Category:Mathematics popularizers Category:21st-century German mathematicians Category:English-language YouTube channels