News Release

Barrett and Christ Receive Bergman Prize

February 4, 1997

For more information, please contact: Allyn Jackson, telephone 401-455-4109; fax 401-331-3842; e-mail axj@ams.org.

Providence, RI---David E. Barrett, professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan, and Michael Christ, professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, have been named as awardees of the Stefan Bergman Prize for 1997.

Established in 1988, the prize honors the memory of Stefan Bergman, best known for his research in the mathematical field known as several complex variables. A native of Poland, Bergman taught at Stanford University for many years and died in 1977 at the age of 82. He was an AMS member for 35 years. When his wife died, the terms of her will stipulated that funds should go toward a special prize in her husband's honor. The prize recognizes mathematical accomplishments in the areas of research in which Bergman worked.

The AMS was asked by Wells Fargo Bank of California, the managers of the Bergman Trust, to assemble a committee to select recipients of the prize. Awards are made every two years in the following areas: (1) the theory of the kernel function and its applications in real and complex analysis; and (2) function-theoretic methods in the theory of partial differential equations of elliptic type with attention to Bergman's operator method.

In its citation, the committee selecting recipients of the Bergman Prize said that David Barrett's work ``is characterized by highly original and deep insight.'' The committee cited in particular two of his contributions to the theory of several complex variables, which they called ``unexpected developments which settled crucial natural problems and initiated new directions of research.''

The selection committee cited Michael Christ for ``major contributions to a number of fields, mainly harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, and several complex variables.'' In the latter field, the committee particularly cited a number of Christ's ``striking contributions.''

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member AMS fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life.