Neil Trudinger Receives 2008 Steele Prize for Exposition

January 7, 2008

Providence, RI:

Neil Trudinger of the Australian National University has received the 2008 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 was awarded today at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, California.

Trudinger is receiving the prize in recognition of his book Elliptic Partial Differential Equations of Second Order, written with the late David Gilbarg (Springer 1977; second edition 1983).
The theory of nonlinear partial differential equations was restricted to a limited collection of cases until the late 1950s, when the logjam was broken by fundamental work by the Italian mathematician Ennio DeGiorgi and the American mathematician John Nash (whose life was dramatized in the book and movie A Beautiful Mind). "The subject thereupon exploded beyond all expectations," the prize citation states. "Neil Trudinger, starting with the original 1977 edition of his book with Gilbarg, has recorded the progress of the field." Trudinger reworked the breakthroughs, many of which were due to his own work, and recasted highly technical material into a more understandable form. "His service has been invaluable," the citation continues. "Having this foundational reference has made it possible for young researchers to enter the field, which would otherwise have been impenetrable... Neil Trudinger's concise, elegant exposition in this outstanding book is magnificent."

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

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