HM King Harald awards the Abel Prize of 2007 to Indian-American, Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York, in a ceremony at the University of Oslo on 22 May. The Abel Prize is annually awarded for outstanding mathematical achievement and includes prize money of NOK 6 million (EUR 750 000).
23/05/2007 :: Mr Varadhan is awarded the prize “for his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviation”.
Mr. Vardhan underlined in his acceptance speech that the world is filled with uncertainty and that there is a need to control this. He continued with his gratitude to the International Abel Committee, “I feel honoured that the committee has recognised my contribution to the probability theory.”
The laureate was celebrated in the prominent University Aula, where both HM Queen Sonja and the Minister of Education and Research, Øystein Djupedal attended. The contribution of the International acclaimed Oslo String Quartet put a surprising touch to the ceremony with its unpredictable interpretation of George Gershwin’s music. Earlier in the day, Mr. Varadhan received audience at the Royal Palace. In the evening, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, is hosting a government banquet in Mr. Varadhan’s honour at the Akershus Castle. Moreover, the celebration will continue for several days in both Oslo and Trondheim.
During the Abel events in Norway, Mr. Varadhan will meet young student of mathematics. He will present the Holmboe Prize, named after Abel’s teacher at the Oslo Cathedral School. Moreover, the laureate will give lectures at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, as well as take part in a mathematical circus for children.
The Abel Committee states that Mr Varadhan, has provided “a unifying and efficient method for clarifying a rich variety of phenomena arising in complex stochastic systems” through his theory of large deviations. It also notes that the theory can be applied in many different fields, including quantum field theory, statistical physics, population dynamics, econometrics and finance, and traffic engineering.
“Varadhan’s work has great conceptual strength and ageless beauty. His ideas have been hugely influential and will continue to stimulate further research for a long time,” Professor Kristian Seip, the head of the Abel Committee, said on the annunciation day, 22 March.
The Abel Prize was first presented in 2003, in memory of the Norwegian mathematician, Nils Henrik Abel (1802–1829), who despite his short life left an enduring mathematical legacy.