Dennis P. Sullivan, a professor of mathematics at the City University of New York Graduate Center, is the winner of this year's Abel Prize.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters said that Dr. Sullivan was honored for his contributions to the field of topology.
Topology is the study of space and shapes, and most of Dr. Sullivan's work involves what mathematicians call manifolds, higher-dimensional versions of two-dimensional surfaces. Some of his recent research in fluid flows and turbulence could add to the understanding of the paths of hurricanes, the dispersions of air pollutants and the whorls behind airplane wings.
The most prestigious awards in math are the Fields Medals, which are given every four years to the most accomplished mathematicians who are 40 or younger.
The Norwegian mathematician who was named after is referred to as the "Abel". Every year it is given to highlight important advances in mathematics. Andrew J. Wiles, who was 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519 800-211-2519
Ulrike Tillmann, a mathematician at the University of Oxford, said that Dr. Sullivan's work is absolutely fantastic.
Dr. Sullivan had a nice reaction to the news.
He said that they remember him.
The prize is accompanied by 7.5 million Norwegian kroner.
The family of Dr. Sullivan moved to Houston after he was born.
In a parallel universe, Dr. Sullivan might have been a chemical engineer. He majored in that at Rice University. The professor drew two shapes on the blackboard, one of which was a circle. He said you could stretch one to fit on the other.
It was not surprising. The professor said that the stretching was the same in all directions and that there was a way to do it.
Dr. Sullivan said that this was not like mathematics he had learned. It was much deeper.
He completed a doctorate in mathematics at Princeton in 1966.
Dr. Sullivan was a pioneer of surgery theory. This method allowed for innovative mathematical explorations, such as cutting two round holes in a sphere and then gluing one end of a tube to each of the holes on the outside of the sphere, creating a kettleball-like shape.
The mathematicians were able to study what kinds of topologies could be made.
A two-dimensional manifolds like the surface of a sphere can be approximated by triangles that are then glued back together using surgery theory.
All triangulations of two-dimensional surfaces and three-dimensional manifolds are the same.
Dr. Sullivan showed that the assertion was always true in five dimensions or more.
There are a few instances where two triangulations of a five-dimensional manifolds are not equivalent. Many four-dimensional manifolds were shown to be not true by other mathematicians.
Dr. Sullivan shifted his focus to dynamical systems.
One of his lasting contributions is a dictionary that links dynamics with three-dimensional geometry. He was able to prove a mathematical problem that had been unsolved since the 1920s.
The deep and unexpected connections between these disciplines helped Dr. Sullivan figure out the mathematical underpinning of a phenomenon known as period doubling that had been discovered and studied by physicists.
It took eight years to find the hypothesis that made it true.
He ushered in a whole new theory of complex dynamical systems, according to a Harvard mathematician who completed his graduate studies with Dr. Sullivan as his adviser.
Problems in fluid dynamics have been tackled by Dr. Sullivan.
The Balzan Prize for Mathematics was accepted by Dr. Sullivan in order to see if the theoretical tools he had developed could be applied to practical problems.
He said that he could not show that he had come up with better computer models.
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