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John Baez
2013 Levi L. Conant Prize
Until recently, Baez worked on higher category theory and quantum gravity. In 2010, concerned about climate change and the future of the planet, he switched to working on more practical topics and started the Azimuth Project, an international collaboration to create a focal point for scientists and engineers interested in saving the planet.
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John Huerta
2013 Levi L. Conant Prize
Though Huerta studied mathematics, he’s always loved physics, and derives great inspiration from it. His interest began with a popular astronomy book that his sister gave to him as a child. This evolved into a fascination with stars, with physical laws, and eventually the underlying mathematics and its conceptual interplay.
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Michael Larsen
2013 E.H. Moore Research Article Prize
Larsen graduated from Harvard College in 1984 and received a PhD in mathematics from Princeton University in 1988. He has worked at the Institute for Advanced Study (1988–90), the University of Pennsylvania (1990–97), and the University of Missouri (1997–98) before coming to Indiana University, where he is now Distinguished Professor of Mathematics. Photo by Anne Larsen.
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Richard Pink
2013 E.H. Moore Research Article Prize
Pink’s research interests include number theory and arithmetic geometry, specifically the arithmetic of Shimura varieties, the topological-geometric nature of the Lefschetz trace formula, Drinfeld modules and their generalizations, and motives over function fields, including the arithmetic of the associated Galois representations.
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Alexander Razborov
2013 David P. Robbins Prize
Razborov’s research spans several areas in theoretical computer science, including computational complexity, proof complexity, quantum computing, and computational complexity, as well as related mathematical areas, notably discrete mathematics and combinatorial group theory.
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Maryam Mirzakhani
2013 Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics
“The social barriers for girls who are interested in mathematical sciences might not be lower now than they were when I grew up…However, there has been a lot of progress over the years, and I am sure this trend will continue.” Mirzakhani grew up in Tehran, Iran. Her research interests include Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, and ergodic theory.
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Yakov Sinai
2013 Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement
Sinai was born in 1935 in Moscow, Soviet Union, now Russia. Among his other recognitions are the Wolf Prize in Mathematics, the Nemmers Prize, the Lagrange Prize, the Boltzmann Medal, the Dirac Medal, and the Poincaré Prize.
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John Guckenheimer
2013 Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition
During the past fifteen years, Guckenheimer’s research has investigated dynamical systems with multiple time scales and associated numerical methods. He has also continued to investigate the use of dynamical systems theory in diverse areas, notably in neuroscience and animal locomotion. Cornell University Photography. Photo by Jason Koski.
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Philip Holmes
2013 Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition
Much of Holmes's research has been in dynamical systems and their applications in engineering and the physical sciences, but in the past fifteen years he has increasingly turned to biology. He currently works on the neuro-mechanics of animal locomotion and neuro-dynamics of decision making. He has also published four collections of poems (Anvil Press, London). Photo by James W. Phillips.
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Saharon Shelah
2013 Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research
“I have been attracted to trying to find some order in the darkness, more specifically, finding meaningful dividing lines among general families of structures.” Shelah earned his B.Sc. from Tel Aviv University, his M.Sc. from the Hebrew University under the supervision of Professor H. Gaifman, and his PhD from the Hebrew University under the supervision of Professor M. Rabin.
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Ian Agol
2013 Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
Agol was born in Hollywood, CA, in 1970 and received his Ph.D. at University of California (UC) San Diego in 1998 under the supervision of Michael Freedman. He is awarded the Veblen Prize for his many fundamental contributions to hyperbolic geometry, 3-manifold topology, and geometric group theory.
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Daniel Wise
2013 Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
After stints at UC Berkeley, Cornell University, and Brandeis University, Wise joined McGill University, where he has been teaching since 2001. He lives in Montreal with his wife, Yael, and their four children. Their house is full of music, art, laughter, and sleep deprivation. Photo by Michael Wise.
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Andrew Majda
2013 Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics
“As a young scientist, I found I truly loved the serendipity between applied mathematics and complex physical phenomena…” In Majda’s years at the Courant Institute, he has created the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science with seven multi-disciplinary faculty to promote cross-disciplinary research with modern applied mathematics in climate modeling and prediction.
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Fan Wei
2013 Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student
Wei is from Beijing, China, where she finished high school and became interested in mathematics. After a summer internship at Microsoft Research New England with Henry Cohn, she went to Cambridge University, where she is studying Part III mathematics for a master’s degree.
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John Allen Paulos
2013 JPBM Communications Award
“…math wasn’t just about algorithms, but said something about games, magic tricks, science, math itself (Gödel), and the world.” Paulos is a best-selling author, popular public speaker, monthly columnist for ABCNews.com, and contributor to a variety of other publications. He is married and has two children, two grandchildren, and a dog named Shmata.