Alessio Figalli of the ETH Zurich institute has been awarded the top award in mathematics, the Fields Medal, for his outstanding achievement in research.
The prize was handed over at an international congress of mathematicians in Brazil on Wednesday, according to a press release by the Federal Institute of TechnologyExternal link.
The International Mathematical Union (IMUExternal link) said the award was in recognition for Figalli’s contributions to the theory of optimal transport and its applications in partial differential equations, metric geometry and probability.
The 34-year old professor helped solve a problem dating back over 20 years.
Expressing his delight with the award, he said: “It’s great to be the first to prove something that has occupied many mathematicians for years. I’d like to show young talented people how creative and exciting mathematics really is.”
Italian-born Figalli shares the recognition with three fellow mathematicians from the United States, Britain and Germany.
He graduated in 2007 and was professor in the US before he took up his post at the ETH in 2016.
The Fields Medal, often compared with a Nobel Prize, is only awarded every four years. Previous winners from Switzerland include Wendelin Werner of the ETH and Stanislas Smirnov of Geneva University in 2006 and 2010 respectively.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
ETH computer expert wins science award
This content was published on
From a fascination with numbers as a child, Torsten Hoefler fashions a career that has now won him one of Switzerland's top science awards.
This content was published on
Results from the 2012 “Programme for International Student Assessment” (PISA) came out on Tuesday for the fifth time since 2000 and included data from 65 countries. The survey is run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and this time focused on maths. Francesco Avvisati, OECD analyst It is a well-functioning educational system.…
This content was published on
Stanislas Smirnov received the award on Thursday at the InternationalCongress of Mathematics in Hyderabad, India. Other recipients were Cedric Vilani and Ngo Bau Chau from Paris and Elon Lindenstrauss from Jerusalem. The Fields Medal is considered the equivalent of the Nobel prize for mathematics and is awarded every four years to outstanding mathematicians under the…
This content was published on
When Albert Einstein lived in Zurich, he used to prepare the groundwork for his revolutionary theories while sitting in a café. Many other Nobel Prize winners chose to spend time in the city for work, as an exhibition shows. A past laureate takes a guess at why.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.