Mathematics People

Lieb Wins 2023 Kyoto Prize

Elliott H. Lieb, professor emeritus at Princeton University, won the 2023 Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences.

According to a press release, Lieb “is one of the intellectual giants in the field of mathematical sciences. …Primarily through his achievements in many-body physics, [Lieb] established a foundation for mathematical research in fields such as physics, chemistry, and quantum information science. His contributions to the development of mathematical analysis are significant as well.”

“I am deeply honored to have been selected for the Kyoto Prize,” Lieb said. “Its founder, Dr. Kazuo Inamori, and I share not only a birth year but also a philosophy that has guided my activities in research and education.”

Established in 1984 by the Inamori Foundation, the Kyoto Prize is an international award to “individuals who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of humankind.” The prize annually honors an individual in the fields of advanced technology, arts and philosophy, and basic sciences (which includes pure mathematics in a five-year cycle).

Lieb will receive the prize, which includes a diploma, a medal made of twenty-carat gold, and a cash award of 100 million yen (approximately US $700,000), at a ceremony in Kyoto, Japan, on November 10, 2023.

“It is especially gratifying to see my work in mathematics and physics recognized in a city that played an important role in my cultural and scientific life,” Lieb added. “It was in Kyoto in 1956 that I wrote my first postdoctoral paper and where my immersion in Japanese culture made a profound and continuing impact on my life.”

A life member of the American Mathematical Society, Lieb joined the AMS in 1969 and was named to its inaugural class of fellows in 2013.

—AMS Communications

Drinfeld, Yau Receive 2023 Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences

The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences was awarded today in equal shares to Vladimir Drinfeld of the University of Chicago and Shing-Tung Yau of Tsinghua University. Drinfeld and Yau were recognized for their contributions related to mathematical physics, to arithmetic geometry, to differential geometry, and to Kähler geometry, according to the prize citation.

Drinfeld, the Harry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service Professor of Mathematics at UChicago, received a PhD from Moscow State University in 1978. He was appointed assistant professor at Bashkir State University in 1978 and lecturer at Kharkov State University in 1980. Drinfeld then served as research fellow at B. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering from 1981 to 1998. He has been a professor of mathematics at Chicago since 1998. Drinfeld is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the Academy of Sciences, Ukraine.

Yau is currently director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University. He received a PhD in 1971 from the University of California, Berkeley. Yau was a member (1971–1972) and professor (1980–1984) of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at Princeton and assistant professor (1972–1974) at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Yau joined Stanford University, where he was successively associate professor and full professor (1974–1979). In 1984, Yau moved to the University of California at San Diego as professor (1984–1987). He then joined Harvard University, where he has been a distinguished professor (from 1987), director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (from 1994) and also professor in the Department of Physics (from 2013), becoming emeritus in 2022. Yau has been a distinguished professor-at-large at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2003. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an inaugural fellow and member of the AMS.

In its twentieth year, the Shaw Prize consists of the annual naming of laureates in astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences. Each prize bears a monetary award of US $1.2 million. Laureates will receive their awards at a presentation ceremony scheduled for November 12, 2023, in Hong Kong.

—Shaw Prize press release

MAA Welcomes New Director of Project NExT

Christine Kelley, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) mathematics professor, joined the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) as the new director of the professional development program MAA Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching).

Launched in 1994, MAA Project NExT addresses all aspects of an academic career: improving the teaching and learning of mathematics, engaging in research and scholarship, identifying interesting service opportunities, participating in professional activities, and creating a network of peers and mentors. More than 1,700 fellows from a wide variety of institutions have participated in this hallmark program of the MAA: the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts.

Kelley participated in Project NExT in 2008–2009 as an early-career faculty member. “Project NExT taught me how to think critically about teaching, exposed me to diverse teaching methods, and gave me practical tools and training to succeed as a new faculty member in mathematics,” she said. “Moreover, it gave me an instant community and a sense of belonging in the field.”

Kelley joined the AMS in 2010. She also is a member of AWM, MAA, SIAM, and IEEE (Information Theory Society).

—Mathematical Association of America