YU TAKEUCHI BIOGRAPHY

In this text we will talk about Yu Takeuchi’s life and his contributions in mathematics, physics
and statistics to the National University of Colombia, the country and the scientific
community in general. He was born in Tokyo Japan on March 16, 1927. His parents lived in
Tokyo and his dad was passionate about science.

By the time Yu Takeuchi was a kid, Japan was going through a economic crisis and the
second world war, he went to school because in Japan the primary and secondary education
are mandatory and his father began to transmit scientific knowledge from an early age.

He studied Theorical Physics in University of Tokyo by recommendation of his father, he

graduated in 1948 and then he was an assistant professor and then an associate professor
in the University of Ibaraki. By the year of 1959 Yu Takeuchi was contacted by a functionary
of the ministries of foreign relations of Japan, because he had enrolled in a cultural exchange
program, and he tell him that he should travel to Colombia to teach as a diplomatic matter
and if he didn’t obey this order it could be considered a antipatric act. So he began a 42
days travel in a ship that arrived in Buenaventura, during this time Yu Takeuchi learned a
few basic words and expressions in spanish, he arrived with his wife and his newborn
daughter Yuri Takeuchi Ta, in Colombia he had another two other children, named Noboru
and Caori Takeuchi Ta. In Colombia he lived in Bogotá.

As we said earlier, Japan was going through historical an economic events that affected the
life to the japanese people, when Yu Takeuchi was at college, the country was living a post-
war period and the general mood in the country wasn’t the best, also he thought that Japan
was a very disciplinated and traditional country, he was apassionated about teaching
mathematics and he wanted to go to a place were he could teach and through this, contribute
to the society.

Time after his arrival he started working as a teacher at the National University of Colombia
desde allí se convirtió en una de las personas que más contribuyó a la enseñanza de las
matemáticas en Colombia
Viajó por todo Colombia dando conferencias

Fue autor de distintos libros de matemáticas como: introducción al cálculo integral

Fue el primero en Colombia en recibir el título de magister en ciencias con especialidad
matemática en la Universidad nacional de Colombia en 1972

He dead in Colombia on 2014