The badge also recognizes the work of Hugo Duminil-Copin, June Huh and James Maynard.
Viazovska is the second woman to win this award in almost ninety years of history
the ukrainian scientist Maryna Viazovska (kyiv, 1984) has been awarded the Medalla Fields, one of today’s most important academic awards, also known as the ‘Nobel Prize in Mathematics’. The distinction, awarded by the International Mathematical Union, has also recognized the trajectory of scientists Hugo Duminil-Copin (Châtenay-Malabry, 1985), June Huh (California, 1983) y James Maynard (Chelmsford, 1987). Every four years, the delivery of this award points to those professionals under 40 years of age who have stood out for their research, their career and the perspectives that their work poses. It is, therefore, a recognition of those who they promise to revolutionize the world from numbers and calculations.
in the almost ninety years of history of this decoration, inaugurated in 1936, Maryna Viazovska is the second woman to receive a Field Medal. Before her, the only scientist who had achieved this recognition was the Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani. “This recognition is especially emotional, due to the unfair situation that her country is suffering and because an excellent scientist receives it“, Explain Marta Macho-Stadler, professor at the Department of Mathematics at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), speaking to the Science Media Center in Spain. “This award is fair and ‘gives’ us a new benchmark woman in this discipline, mathematics, as complex as it is fascinating,” she adds.
“This award ‘gives’ us a new benchmark woman in this discipline”
Marta Macho-Stadler, mathematics
The Vyazovska’s workfocused on number theory, has managed to solve a question that had left puzzled mathematicians for more than four centuries: how to pack spheres, like oranges stacked in a pyramid, in the most optimal way possible. To understand the relevance of his advances, Spanish mathematics Clara Grima explains that Viazovska managed, alone, to find a formula for stacking spheres in eight dimensions. And then, thanks to his team, he raised the achievement to 24 dimensions. “She solved two of them in a brilliant and spectacular way and not within the reach of anyone’s understanding. It’s very advanced math. These are problems of great importance in many areas of knowledge”, explains Grima, as a professor at the Higher Technical School of Computer Engineering (US), at the SMC.
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Now that Viazovska’s work has (finally) been recognized, both Macho-Stadler and Grima applaud the delivery of the Field Medal to the Ukrainian scientist, but even so, they remember that years ago this award should have recognized the work of this researcher. “A very important part of the world mathematical community is a bit sad because we are waiting for that medal [para Viazovska] in 2018. I deserved it ever since. She alone in 2016 solved a very important geometric problem about packing spheres for dimension 8. She published it alone in the journal ‘Annals of Mathematics’, which is possibly the most important journal in mathematics, and then with dimension 24 as well. published it in the same magazine with other collaborators”, explains Grima.
academic recognition
In this latest edition of the award, the International Mathematical Union has also awarded a Field Medal to Hugo Duminil-Copin, for his work on the probabilistic theory of phase transitions in statistical physics; a June Huh, for the proof of mathematical conjectures such as the Dowling-Wilson for geometric networks; Y James Maynardfor his contributions to analytic number theory.