New Years Medal
The Sylvester Medal (English Sylvester Medal ) is a British award from the Royal Society for researchers in the field of mathematics . It is made of bronze and is endowed with £ 1,000 . The Sylvester Medal has been awarded every three years since 1901 for special merits in mathematical research. The medal has been awarded at changing intervals since 2010. The medal was named after the mathematician James Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897).
Bearer of the Sylvester Medal
The following table lists the winners of the award, which has been conferred since 1901, in full. The English original text and a German translation of the reasoning text are noted in the "Reason" column.
year | scientist | Reason |
---|---|---|
1901 | Henri Poincaré |
"For his many and important contributions to mathematical science." For his many and important contributions to mathematics. |
1904 | Georg Cantor |
"For his brilliant researches in the theories of aggregates and of sets of points of the arithmetic continuum, of transfinite numbers, and Fouriers series." For his brilliant research on the theory of manifolds and the theory of point sets in the arithmetic continuum, of transfinite numbers and Fourier series . |
1907 | Wilhelm Wirtinger |
"For his contributions to the general theory of functions." For his contributions to general function theory. |
1910 | Henry Frederick Baker |
"For his researches in the theory of Abelian functions and for his edition of Sylvesters Collected Works." For his research into the theory of Abelian functions and for his publication of Sylvester's collected works. |
1913 | James Whitbread Lee Glaisher |
“For his mathematical researches, especially those in connection with the theory of numbers and the theory of elliptic functions ..” For his mathematical research, especially those related to number theory and the theory of elliptic functions. |
1916 | Jean Gaston Darboux |
"For his distinguished contributions to mathematical science." For his excellent contributions to mathematics. |
1919 | Percy Alexander MacMahon |
"For his researches in pure mathematics, especially in connection with the partition of numbers and analysis." For his research in pure mathematics, especially in connection with number partitions and analysis. |
1922 | Tullio Levi-Civita |
"For his researches in geometry and mechanics." For his research in geometry and mechanics. |
1925 | Alfred North Whitehead |
"For his researches on the foundations of mathematics." For his research on the fundamentals of mathematics. |
1928 | William Henry Young |
"For his contributions to the theory of functions of a real variable." For his contributions to the theory of the functions of a real variable. |
1931 | Edmund Taylor Whittaker |
"For his original contributions to both pure and applied mathematics." For his own contributions to pure and applied mathematics. |
1934 | Bertrand Russell |
"For his distinguished work on the foundations of mathematics." For his excellent work on the fundamentals of mathematics. |
1937 | Augustus Edward Hough Love |
"For his researches in classical mathematical physics, particularly the mathematical theories of elasticity and hydro-dynamics." For his research in classical mathematical physics, in particular on the mathematical theories of elasticity and hydrodynamics. |
1940 | Godfrey Harold Hardy |
"For his important contributions to many branches of pure mathematics." For his important contributions to many branches of pure mathematics. |
1943 | John Edensor Littlewood |
"For his mathematical discoveries and supreme insight in the analytical theory of numbers." For his mathematical discoveries and his unsurpassed deep insight into analytical number theory. |
1946 | George Neville Watson |
"For his distinguished contributions to pure mathematics in the field of mathematical analysis and in particular for his work on asymptotic expansion and on general transforms." For his outstanding contributions to pure mathematics in the field of analysis and especially for his work on asymptotic expansion and general transformations. |
1949 | Louis Mordell |
"For his distinguished researches in pure mathematics, especially for his discoveries in the theory of numbers." For his excellent research in pure mathematics, especially for his discoveries in number theory. |
1952 | Abram Samoilowitsch Besikowitsch |
"For his outstanding work on almost-periodic functions, the theory of measure and integration and many other topics of theory of functions." For his outstanding work on almost periodic functions, measure theory and integral theory as well as many other areas of function theory. |
1955 | Edward Charles Titchmarsh |
"For his distinguished researches on the Riemann zeta-function, analytical theory of numbers, Fourier analysis, and eigen-function expansions." For his excellent research on the Riemann zeta function , analytical number theory, Fourier analysis and eigenfunction developments. |
1958 | Maxwell Herman Alexander Newman |
"For his distinguished contributions to combinatory topology, Boolean algebras and mathematical logic." For his excellent contributions to combinatorial topology, Boolean algebras and mathematical logic. |
1961 | Philip Hall |
"For his distinguished researches in algebra." For his excellent research in algebra. |
1964 | Mary Lucy Cartwright |
"For her distinguished contributions to analysis and the theory of functions of a real and complex variable." For her excellent contributions to analysis and the theory of the functions of a real or complex variable. |
1967 | Harold Davenport |
"For his many distinguished contributions to the theory of numbers." For his many excellent contributions to number theory. |
1970 | George Frederick James Temple |
"For his many distinguished contributions to applied mathematics, especially in his work on distribution theory." For his excellent contributions to applied mathematics, especially in his work on the theory of distributions . |
1973 | John William Scott Cassels |
"For his numerous important contributions to the theory of numbers." For his numerous important contributions to number theory. |
1976 | David George Kendall |
"For his many distinguished contributions to probability theory and its applications." For his many excellent contributions to probability theory and its applications. |
1979 | Graham Higman |
"For his distinguished and profoundly influential contributions to the theory of finite and infinite groups." For his excellent and very influential contributions to the theory of finite and infinite groups . |
1982 | John Frank Adams |
"For his solution of several outstanding problems of algebraic topology and of the methods he invented for this purpose which have proved of prime importance in the theory of the subject." For his solution to several previously unsolved problems of algebraic topology and for the methods he devised for this purpose, which turned out to be of decisive importance for the theory of this subject. |
1985 | John Griggs Thompson |
"For his fundamental contributions leading to the complete classification of all finite simple groups." For his fundamental contributions towards the complete classification of finite simple groups . |
1988 | Charles TC Wall |
"For his contributions to the topology of manifolds and related topics in algebra and geometry." For his contributions to the topology of manifolds and related areas of algebra and geometry. |
1991 | Klaus Friedrich Roth |
"For his many contributions to number theory and in particular his solution of the famous problem concerning approximating algebraic numbers by rationals." For his many contributions to number theory and especially for his solution to the famous problem of the approximation of algebraic numbers by rational numbers. |
1994 | Peter Whittle |
"For his major distinctive contributions to time series analysis, to optimization theory, and to a wide range of topics in applied probability theory and the mathematics of operational research." For his crucial contributions to time series analysis, optimization theory and a wide range of topics in applied stochastics and operations research . |
1997 | Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter |
"For his achievements in geometry, notably projective geometry, non-euclidean geometry and the analysis of spatial shapes and patterns, and for his substantial contributions to practical group-theory which pervade much modern mathematics." For his achievements in geometry, especially projective and non-Euclidean geometry as well as the analysis of spatial forms and patterns, and for his substantial contributions to applied group theory , which permeate much of modern mathematics. |
2000 | Nigel James Hitchin |
"For his important contributions to many parts of differential geometry combining this with complex geometry, integrable systems and mathematical physics interweaving the most modern ideas with the classical." For his important contributions to many areas of differential geometry, which bring them together with complex geometry, integrable systems and mathematical physics, whereby the very modern ideas are connected with the classical ones. |
2003 | Lennart Carleson |
“For his deep and fundamental contributions to mathematics in the field of analysis and complex dynamics. His most spectacular achievement was the proof of the convergence almost everywhere of the Fourier Series of square integrable and continuous functions. " For his profound and fundamental contributions to mathematics in the fields of analysis and complex dynamics. His most spectacular achievement was the proof of the almost everywhere convergence of Fourier series of square integrable continuous functions. |
2006 | Peter Swinnerton-Dyer |
"For his fundamental work in arithmetic geometry and his many contributions to the theory of ordinary differential equations." For his fundamental work on arithmetic geometry and for his many contributions to the theory of ordinary differential equations. |
2009 | John M. Ball |
"For his seminal work in mechanics and nonlinear analysis and his encouragement of mathematical research in developing countries." For his highly influential work on mechanics and nonlinear analysis and for promoting mathematical research in developing countries. |
2010 | Graeme Segal |
"For his highly influential and elegant work on the development of topology, geometry and quantum field theory, bridging the gap between physics and pure mathematics." For his highly influential and elegant work on developing the topology, geometry and quantum field theory that bridges the gap between physics and pure mathematics. |
2012 | John Francis Toland |
"For his original theorems and remarkable discoveries in nonlinear partial differential equations, including applications to water waves." For his novel theorems and notable discoveries in nonlinear partial differential equations, including applications to water waves. |
2014 | Ben Green |
"For his famous result on primes in arithmetic progression, and his subsequent proofs of a number of spectacular theorems over the last five to ten years." For his famous finding on prime numbers and arithmetic progression, and for his subsequent proofs of several spectacular theorems over the past five to ten years. |
2016 | Timothy Gowers |
"For his groundbreaking results in the theory of Banach spaces, pure combinatorics, and additive number theory." For his groundbreaking results in the theory of Banach spaces , pure combinatorics and additive number theory . |
2018 | Dusa McDuff |
"For leading the development of the new field of symplectic geometry and topology." For leading contributions in the new field of symplectic geometry and topology. |
2019 | Peter Sarnak |
"For transformational contributions across number theory, combinatorics, analysis and geometry." For revolutionary contributions in number theory, combinatorics, analysis and geometry. |
2020 | Bryan Birch | "His work has played a major role in driving the theory of elliptic curves, through the Birch-Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture and the theory of Heegner points." |
Web links
- The Sylvester Medal on the website of the Royal Society (English)