Probability Theorist Received “Nobel Prize” of Mathematics
Probability Theorist Received “Nobel Prize” of Mathematics
Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan, a professor at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, will receive the Abel Prize in mathematics from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters on Tues., May 22 in Oslo. His Majesty King Harald will present the award at a ceremony that begins at 2 p.m. local time (8 a.m. EDT). Her Majesty Queen Sonja will also attend the award ceremony. The Minister of Education and Research, Øystein Djupedal, will be among the many prominent guests, and Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will host a banquet honoring Varadhan at Akershus Castle in the evening of the award ceremony. Images from the ceremony are available here and here.
Immediately after the ceremony there will be an international press conference at Hotel Continental, beginning at 3 p.m. For a complete program of Abel events, go to http://www.abelprisen.no/en/kalender/
Reporters interested in attending the ceremony or in more information should contact Anne-Marie Astad, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, at + 47 22 12 10 92, + 47 41 56 74 06 (mobile), or anne.marie.astad@dnva.no.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters recognized Varadhan for “his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviations,” which the Academy characterized as “hugely influential” and lauded for its “great conceptual strength and ageless beauty” in its March 22 announcement. The honor includes a prize of $850,000.
For more information on the Abel Prize, go to www.abelprisen.no/en/.
This is the second time in three years that an NYU mathematician has been the recipient of the Abel Prize. In 2005, Professor Peter Lax of the Courant Institute was awarded the Abel.
Varadhan, who is known as Raghu, is the Frank J. Gould Professor of Science and professor of mathematics at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He first came to Courant as a post-doctoral fellow in 1963 and has spent his entire professional life there, serving two terms as its director (1980-1984, and 1992-94).