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Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics

This prize was established in 1967 in honor of Professor Norbert Wiener and was endowed by a fund from the Department of Mathematics of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The prize is awarded for an outstanding contribution to "applied mathematics in the highest and broadest sense."  The award is made jointly by the American Mathematical Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. The recipient must be a member of one of these societies.  Beginning in 2004, the US$5,000 prize will be awarded every three years.

Next award:  January 2013.  Contact the AMS Secretary regarding nomination procedure.

Eleventh award, 2010:  To David L. Donoho for introducing novel fundamental and powerful mathematical tools in signal processing and image analysis.

Tenth award, 2007 :  To Craig Tracy and Harold Widom for their deep and original work on Random Matrix Theory, a subject which has remarkable applications across the scientific spectrum, from the scattering of neutrons off large nuclei to the behavior of the zeros of the Riemann zeta-function.

Ninth award, 2004 :  To James A. Sethian for his seminal work on the computer representation of the motion of curves, surfaces, interfaces, and wave fronts, and for his brilliant applications of mathematical and computational ideas to problems in science and engineering.

Eighth award, 2000 : To Alexandre J. Chorin in recognition of his seminal work in computational fluid dynamics, statistical mechanics, and turbulence; and to Arthur T. Winfree in recognition of his profound impact on the field of biological rhythms, otherwise known as coupled nonlinear oscillators.

Seventh award, 1995 : To Hermann Flaschka for deep and original contributions to our understanding of completely integrable systems; and to Ciprian Foias, for basic contributions to operator theory, analysis, and dynamics and their applications.

Sixth award, 1990: To Michael Aizenman for his outstanding contribution of original and non-perturbative mathematical methods in statistical mechanics by means of which he was able to solve several long open important problems concerning critical phenomena, phase transitions, and quantum field theory; and to Jerrold E. Marsden for his outstanding contributions to the study of differential equations in mechanics: he proved the existence of chaos in specific classical differential equations; his work on the momentum map, from abstract foundations to detailed applications, has had great impact.

Fifth award, 1985: To Clifford S. Gardner for his contributions to applied mathematics in the areas of supersonic aerodynamics, plasma physics and hydromagnetics, and especially for his contributions to the truly remarkable development of inverse scattering theory for the solution of nonlinear partial differential equations.

Fourth award, 1980: To Gerald B. Whitham for his broad contributions to the understanding of fluid dynamical phenomena and his innovative contributions to the methodology through which that understanding can be constructed.

Third award, 1980: To Tosio Kato for his distinguished work in the perturbation theory of quantum mechanics.

Second award, 1975: To Peter D. Lax for his broad contributions to applied mathematics, in particular, for his work on numerical and theoretical aspects of partial differential equations and on scattering theory.

First award, 1970: To Richard E. Bellman for his pioneering work in the area of dynamic programming, and for his related work on control, stability, and differential-delay equations.