Lars Hörmander Receives 2006 AMS Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition

January 13, 2006

Providence, RI:

Lars Hörmander of Lund University in Sweden is receiving the 2006 AMS Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition. Presented annually by the American Mathematical Society, the Steele Prize is one of the highest distinctions in mathematics. The prize is being awarded today at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Antonio, Texas.

Hörmander is being honored for several of his outstanding expository writings. Among these are his four-volume series, The Analysis of Linear Partial Differential Operators, which, the prize citation states, "are a compendium of practically all of the exciting developments that occurred in the theory of linear partial differential equations and in the area of microlocal analysis in the period 1960-1985." These books have influenced a whole generation of mathematicians working in this area. The prize citation says: "In the history of mathematics one is hard-pressed to find any comparable `expository' work that covers so much material, and with such depth and understanding, of such a broad area of mathematics."

The citation also singles out another masterpiece by Hörmander, Complex Analysis in Several Variables, which first appeared in 1973. "Now, more than 30 years later, this excellent book remains the gold standard in teaching a graduate course in several complex variables at many universities in the U.S. and abroad," the citation says. It is a "must-read" for anyone working in or using this branch of mathematics.

The citation concludes: "Lars Hörmander's contribution to mathematical exposition is highly unusual and perhaps even unique in modern times."

Find out more about AMS prizes at http://www.ams.org/prizes-awards.

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Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society 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 to everyday life.