Fields Medal Delivery

1995/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Matematika

Among mathematicians they are somewhat equated to Nobel Prizes, but unlike these, they have a clause that says it is for young mathematicians, and it is interpreted that this is for those under 40 years of age. Four years ago (“Elhuyar. Science and Technology, number 43, 1991) I wrote in the article “International Congresses of Mathematicians” what these medals were and how they were distributed.

In short, every four years, coinciding with the celebration of the International Congress of Mathematicians, up to four prizes can be awarded each. From 3 to 11 August the Fields medals were distributed in Zurich. The winners of this year were: the Belgian Jean Bourgain, the French Pierre-Louis Lions and Jean Christophe Yoccoz and the Russian Efim Zelmanov.

The first has worked for several years in France (at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques) and has just traveled to Princeton (USA), the two French work in Paris (at the Paris-Dauphine and Paris-Sud Universities, respectively) and has passed to Celmanov Novosibirsk in Chicago until 1990. Comparing with the previous Congresses, we can say that the presence of Mathematical Analysis is now evident, since this is the field of work of the first three, while the fourth is algebraic. On the other hand, in the case of Lions, the prize for applied mathematics has also been highlighted, so far forgotten.