Abel Prize 2006 goes to Springer author

Lennart Carleson: a leader in the field of harmonic analysis

Heidelberg/Oslo, 30 March 2006, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the 2006 Abel Prize to Springer author Lennart Carleson. Professor emeritus at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, Carleson receives the Abel Prize “for his profound and seminal contributions to harmonic analysis and the theory of smooth dynamical systems.” The prize, accompanied by about 750,000 euros, is known as the “Nobel Prize for Mathematics.” It will be presented to Lennart Carleson by HRH King Harald at an award ceremony in Oslo on May 23.

Carleson has solved many very difficult open problems. In the Abel Committee’s opinion, the most impressive of these concerns Fourier series. He has made many fundamental contributions to harmonic analysis, complex analysis, quasi-conformal mappings, and dynamical systems. Standing out among them is his solution of the famous corona problem. The impact of the ideas and actions of Lennart Carleson is not restricted to his mathematical work. He has also played an important role in popularizing mathematics in Sweden, and he has always been especially interested in school mathematics.

Included in Springer’s mathematics program are the books Complex Dynamics, co-authored by Carleson, and the Birkhäuser publication The Collected Works of Arne Beurling of which he is co-editor. The book Perspectives in Analysis is a collection of essays in honor of Lennart Carleson’s 75th birthday.

Lennart Carleson has held many important posts. In the years 1968-1984, he was director of the Institut Mittag-Leffler outside Stockholm, building it up from a rather dormant existence into one of the most popular and active mathematical research institutes in the world. In the years 1978-1982, he was president of the International Mathematical Union.

The Abel Prize was awarded for the first time in June 2003. All previous laureates have been Springer authors. Last year Peter D. Lax won the prestigious prize, and in 2004 Michael Francis Atiyah and Isadore M. Singer were the winners. Jean-Pierre Serre was the first to receive the honor in 2003. Springer is the world market leader in the field of mathematics with journals such as Inventiones Mathematicae, Mathematische Annalen, Annali di Matematica Pura ed Applicata and Publications Mathématiques de l’IHÉS.

The Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund was established to honor outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics. The award is in memory of the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel, who died at the young age of 27. Springer has published a biography of this great mathematical genius in English, German and French versions.

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Joan Robinson

Springer

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