By: Samuel Lin
The Abel Prize is a prestigious prize given to the most outstanding mathematicians of each year. Considered the math equivalent to the Nobel Prize, it honors many heroes who use math to solve real-world problems. This year an amazing Argentina-born mathematician was given the Abel Prize for his work on partial differential equations, at age 74.
Luis Cafferelli was born on December 8th, 1948, in Buenos Aires. He went to the University of Buenos Aires, where he got his Masters and Ph.D. of Science. Afterward, he became a professor at many American Universities, including the University of Chicago, the University of Minnesota, and currently, the University of Texas at Austin.
Cafferelli studies partial differential equations or PDEs. PDEs mathematically model many fluids and continuous things in nature, such as the shape of an ice cube when it melts, or how heat spreads through an object. PDE’s require the use of two or more variables.
“Partial differential equations are an important part of science,” said Cafferelli. “There is a constant evolution of the equations and the application of the equations. I am glad that I have made contributions that are valuable.”
Cafferelli studied free boundary problems, a type of PDE problem. He wrote many papers about them, including a 1977 paper published in Acta Mathematica. His paper proved that when the ice melts to water, the ice remains smooth and regular.
One of his most famous works was published in 1982. Cafferelli collaborated with two brilliant mathematicians: Louis Nirenburg and Robert Kohn. Together, they worked on the Navier-Stokes equation, an equation that has helped mathematicians model how air flows around airplane wings and how water flows in pipes.
During their studies, Cafferelli amazed his colleagues. “Fantastic intuition, just remarkable,” said Lous Nirenburg. “I had a hard time keeping up with him. He somehow immediately sees things that other people don’t see.”
Though the trio did not completely prove the smoothness and regularity of a fluid as it moves, they came up with a key piece of proof, and Cafferelli remains proud of what he has done with his colleagues.
Before winning the Abel Prize in 2023, Cafferelli won numerous other awards, including the Konex Awards in 2003, and Wolf Award in 2012. Yet the most coveted award he has won is the Abel Prize. This earned Cafferelli 7.5 million Norwegian krone or $700,000 US dollars.
On March 22nd, the Abel Prize committee announced Cafferellithe winner of the 2023 Abel Prize.
“Few other living mathematicians have contributed more to our understanding of partial differential equations than the Argentinian–American Luis Caffarelli,” read the Abel Prize article on Caffarelli. “He has introduced ingenious new techniques, shown brilliant geometric insight, and produced many seminal results.”
The award will be given to Luis Cafferelli by Norwegian King Harald in Oslo, Norway, on May 23rd.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/science/abel-prize-math-luis-caffarelli.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Caffarelli
https://news.utexas.edu/2023/03/22/mathematics-highest-prize-awarded-to-luis-caffarelli/