As a mathematician, Louis A. Caffarelli of the University of Texas at Austin tries to answer this seemingly simple, even potentially useful, question:
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How does the shape of ice change when it melts?
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Can the smooth flow of water get out of hand?
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What is the shape of the elastic sheet stretched around the object?
These questions are not easy to answer. This behavior and many other phenomena in the world around us—including fluctuations in financial markets, turbulent river flows, and the spread of infectious diseases—can be explained mathematically, using what are known as partial differential equations. Equations can often be written simply, but finding an exact solution is very difficult if not impossible.
However, dr. Caffarelli, 74, has been able to make significant progress in understanding partial differential equations even when the complete solution remains elusive. For this achievement, he is the winner of this year’s Abel Prize – the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in its field.
“Few other living mathematicians have contributed more to our understanding of partial differential equations than the Argentinian-American Luis Caffarelli,” the Abel Prize committee announced in a press release Wednesday.
The prize was accompanied by 7.5 million Norwegian kroner, which is about $700,000.
Caffarelli said in an interview that he enjoys talking to scientists. Sometimes, he suggested mathematical approaches they could try; Other times, they suggested problems he could solve.
