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Artur Avila

math Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Artur Avila is a mathematician who studies how things change. He focuses on dynamical systems and spectral theory. Dynamical systems look at how patterns move and evolve over time.

Four Fields medallists plus epsilon
Four Fields medallists plus epsilon

This kind of math helps us understand movement. It can apply to many different parts of science. He is a very important researcher in these fields. He has worked in many different countries.

Artur's journey in math started very early in life. At age 16, he won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Four Fields medallists plus epsilon
Four Fields medallists plus epsilon

He studied at schools in Rio de Janeiro. He earned his M.S. degree in 1997. Later, he went to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. At age 19, he began his doctoral work. He finished his PhD in 2001 at IMPA. He then moved to France to do more research.

One of his most famous successes happened in 2005. He worked with Svetlana Jitomirskaya to solve a hard puzzle. This puzzle was called the "conjecture of the ten martinis."

Four Fields medallists plus epsilon
Four Fields medallists plus epsilon

A physicist named Barry Simon had first proposed it. Mark Kac even promised ten martinis to whoever solved it. The problem had stayed unsolved for 25 years. Artur and his partner found the answer. They also worked on the Zorich–Kontsevich conjecture that same year.

Artur has received many great honors for his work. In 2014, he won the Fields Medal.

Four Fields medallists plus epsilon
Four Fields medallists plus epsilon

He was the first Latin American to win this prize. He also won the Salem Prize in 2006. In 2008, he won a prize from the European Mathematical Society. He received the Grand Prix Jacques Herbrand in 2009. He was even named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2015. These awards show how much people respect his ideas.

Today, Artur continues to teach and lead in math. He has been a professor at the University of Zurich since 2018.

Four Fields medallists plus epsilon
Four Fields medallists plus epsilon

He also works as a researcher for the CNRS in France. He has been a research director there since 2008. His work connects many different ideas together. He helps us see the math in moving things. His life shows how curiosity leads to great discoveries.

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