In News
- The Abel Prize for mathematics was awarded to Argentine-American Luis Caffarelli.
Partial Differential Equations
- Luis Caffarelli is a professor at the University of Texas and was honoured for his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations. He is the first person born in South America to win the award.
- Differential equations are tools scientists use to predict the behaviour of the physical world. These equations play a prominent role in many disciplines including engineering, physics, economics, and biology.
- Partial differential equations arise naturally as laws of nature, to describe phenomena as different as the flow of water or the growth of populations.Â
- These equations have been a constant source of intense study since the days of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. Yet, despite substantial efforts by numerous mathematicians over centuries, fundamental questions concerning the existence, uniqueness, regularity, and stability of solutions of some of the key equations remain unresolved.
About the Abel Prize
- It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) and is one of the most coveted awards in mathematics.Â
- The Abel Prize is funded by the Norwegian government and amounts to NOK 7.5 million ($710,000).
- The prize is awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and presented by His Majesty King Harald.
- The choice of the Abel laureate is based on the recommendation by the Abel Committee, which is composed of five internationally recognised mathematicians.
