The brain of one of the 20th century's most gifted mathematicians is in the hands of McMaster University neuroscientist Sandra Witelson.

She now has the chance to study the great mind of Donald Coxeter, internationally renowned for his work in geometry and the discovery of four-dimensional figures called polytopes.

Coxeter, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and Companion of the Order of Canada, died at 96 in his Toronto home on March 31.

For Witelson, it's a second opportunity to study one of the greatest minds of our times.

Earlier, in 1995, an unexpected invitation allowed her to examine the preserved brain of Albert Einstein, 40 years after his death in Princeton. This research was possible because of the extensive brain bank she had developed at McMaster.

Read the complete story in The Hamilton Spectator.

Also read, Mathematic mind explored, in The Toronto Star