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Professor Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan |
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2007, worth NOK 6,000,000 (USD 920,000) to Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York, for his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviation.
In the official statement of the Abel Committee we read:
…Varadhan’s theory of large deviations provides a unifying and efficient method for clarifying a rich variety of phenomena arising in complex stochastic systems, in fields as diverse as quantum field theory, statistical physics, population dynamics, econometrics and finance, and traffic engineering. It has also greatly expanded our ability to use computers to simulate and analyze the occurrence of rare events. Over the last four decades, the theory of large deviations has become a cornerstone of modern probability, both pure and applied.
Varadhan has made key contributions in several other areas of probability. In joint work with Daniel W. Strook, he developed a martingale method for characterizing diffusion processes, such as solutions of stochastic differential equations. This new approach turned out to be an extremely powerful way of constructing new Markov processes, for example, infinite-dimensional diffusions arising in population genetics.
Another major theme in the analysis of hydrodynamical limits describing the macroscopic behaviour of very large systems of interacting particles. A first breakthrough came in joint work with Maozheng Guo and George C. Papanicolou on gradient models.
Varadhan went even further by showing how to handle non-gradient models, greatly extending the scope of the theory. His ideas also had a strong influence on the analysis of random walks in a random environment. His name is now attached to the method of “viewing the environment from the travelling particle”, one of the few general tools in the field.
Varadhan’s work has great conceptual strength and ageless beauty. His ideas have been hugely influential and will continue to stimulate further research for a long time.
The deadline for the next issue is 30 September 2007. Please email submissions
as plain text to the Editors:
Krzysztof Dębicki and Zbigniew Palmowski.
