Luis Caffarelli, 74, has won the 2023 Abel Prize “for his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations including free-boundary problems and the Monge-Ampère equation”.
About Caffarelli
Caffarelli was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, making him the first Abel laureate from South America. Currently, he is a professor at the University of Texas, Austin.
He is married to fellow Argentinian mathematician Irene Martínez Gamba, who teaches at UT, Austin as well.
Cafarelli has been one of the leading figures in the study of partial differential equations for over five decades.
According to the Abel citation, Caffarelli’s contributions to the field of partial differential equations have been groundbreaking, having significantly altered our comprehension of various classes of nonlinear partial differential equations that have numerous applications.
Abel Prize
The Abel Prize was established by the Norwegian government in 2002 on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of the 19th century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. The Abel Prize recognizes contributions to the field of mathematics that are of extraordinary depth and influence.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters awards the Abel Prize based on a recommendation from the Abel committee.
The prize carries a cash award of 6 million Norwegian kroner ($7,03,000) and has been awarded annually since 2003.
In addition to honouring outstanding mathematicians, the Abel Prize also contributes towards raising the status of mathematics in society and stimulating the interest of children and young people in mathematics.
There is no Nobel Prize in mathematics, and for decades, the most prestigious awards in math were the Fields Medals, awarded in small batches every four years to the most accomplished mathematicians who are 40 or younger. Maryam Mirzakhani, in 2014, is the only woman to receive a Fields Medal.
