27/01/2020

Mathematician Louis Nirenberg dies at age 94.

Foto: Reprodução MaddMaths

Canadian mathematician Louis Nirenberg died at age 94 on Sunday (26). Nirenberg received the Abel Prize, along with John F. Nash Jr., in 2015. His academic contributions were considered “impressive and inspiring to the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations and their applications in geometric analysis.”

During more than 50 years of research, Nirenberg transformed the field of partial differential equations. His work has been described as "virtually the best ever done" to solve the problem of the existence and fluidity of solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations in fluid mechanics, one of the Millennium Problems.

In a statement to the Abel Prize website, the president of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Hans Petter Graver, stated that Nirenberg's legacy will be eternal. "His death is a great loss, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Louis Nirenberg is considered one of the most remarkable mathematicians of the 20th century," he noted.

Foto: Scanpix

In 1959, the researcher won the Bôcher Prize from the American Mathematical Society. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences ten years later. In the 1990s, he received the Steele Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Mathematical Society and was awarded the National Medal of Science. Nirenberg also received the first Chern Medal and was a member of the American Mathematical Society.

Born in 1925 in Hamilton, Canada, Nirenberg also held American citizenship. He was raised in Montreal, and his interest in mathematics arose from puzzles. He attended Baron Byng High School and graduated with degrees in mathematics and physics from McGill University. Nirenberg earned his doctorate at New York University and, under the guidance of James Stoker, became a professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.