# Stefan Bergman Prize

Photo by Paul Halmos.

The Bergman Prize honors the memory of Stefan Bergman, best known for his research in several complex variables, as well as the Bergman projection and the Bergman kernel function that bear his name. Awards are made every year or two in: 1) the theory of the kernel function and its applications in real and complex analysis; or 2) function-theoretic methods in the theory of partial differential equations of elliptic type with attention to Bergman's operator method.

A native of Poland, Bergman (pictured) 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 AMS was asked by the Wells Fargo Bank of California, the managers of the Bergman Trust, to assemble a committee to select recipients of the prize. In addition the Society assisted Wells Fargo in interpreting the terms of the will to assure sufficient breadth in the mathematical areas in which the prize may be given.

The amount of the prize varies. The income distributed to the beneficiary may be used only for the purpose of financially aiding that person, including the cost of living, in pursuing the above described program of mathematics study and the award shall be made upon those restrictions.

Most Recent Prize: 2018

The 2018 Bergman Prize recipient is Johannes Sjostrand, University of Bourgogne.

Sjostrand is recognized for his fundamental work on the Bergman and Szegő kernels, as well as for his numerous fundamental contributions to microlocal analysis, spectral theory, and partial differential equations (PDEs). He is especially being recognized for his groundbreaking work with L. Boutet de Monvel on describing the singularities and asymptotics of the Bergman and Szegő kernels in strictly pseudoconvex domains in $\Bbb{C}^n$. This work has been highly influential in subsequent developments on these and related topics.

Next Prize:  December 2020

Nomination Period:  1 March - 30 June, 2019

Nomination Procedure:

Submit a letter of nomination describing the candidate's accomplishments, complete bibliographic citations for the work being nominated, and a brief citation that explains why the work is important.