[cmath] Announcement and citation for the CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize 2014: Prof. Niky Kamran

[Luke Chang]

Niky Kamran (McGill University)

 

CRM - Fields - PIMS Prize 2014

December 3, 2013

 

The Canadian Mathematical Sciences Institutes are pleased to announce that
the winner of the CRM - Fields - PIMS Prize for 2014 is Prof Niky Kamran of
McGill University. He has spent his career in Canada, working in the areas
of analysis and differential geometry. His interests are far reaching, with
the two main directions of his research being in the theory of exterior
differential systems and Lie theory, a central area of the geometric
analysis of systems of partial differential equations, and the mathematical
analysis of general relativity. 

 

Prof. Kamran's work on the topic of exterior differential systems has its
roots in the foundational insight of E. Cartan, which describes local
geometrical objects in terms of systems of differential forms which are
invariant under diffeomorphisms and other infinite dimensional Lie
(pseudo)group actions. Prof. Kamran's principal contributions have been in
the theory of existence of solutions and the classification of infinite
dimensional symmetries. His publications on isotropy subgroups of transitive
analytic Lie pseudogroups of infinite type are definitive, and involve
global elements, such as the cohomology of certain differential complexes,
and local, which for example include Malgrange's estimates arising from his
proof of the Cartan-Kahler theorem.  

 

Prof. Kamran's contributions to the mathematical analysis of the Einstein
equations of general relativity are extremely influential as well, in an
area that is currently running as a `hot topic'. His work, in a series of
important papers with co-authors F. Finster, J. Smoller and S.-T. Yau,
addresses the basic question of stability of Lorentzian space-times,
something that is fundamental to our understanding of present day cosmology.
The key in such questions about nonlinear systems of evolution equations is
to understand on a deep level the solution operator for the linearized
equations; Prof. Kamran and collaborators have given a systematic treatment
of the `black-hole' space-times, namely of the Schwarzschild and Kerr
solutions to Einstein's equations. His most recent work addresses the
anti-deSitter solutions as the central object of interest in the approach to
quantum gravity known as the Anti-deSitter - Conformal Field Theory
correspondence. 

 

Prof. Kamran has published over 125 scientific articles. In addition he is a
superb expositor, and has contributed influential survey articles and
monographs. His work is remarkable for its brilliant, original insights, in
combination with a deep mathematical culture, representing a wide and varied
range of topics of interest. Niky's contributions will have a lasting
scientific impact on Canadian mathematics and on the global mathematical
community. 

 

  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Niky Kamran (Universite McGill)

 

Prix CRM - Fields - PIMS 2014

3 Decembre 2013

 

Les instituts en sciences mathematiques du Canada sont heureux d'annoncer
que le Professeur Niky Kamran est le recipiendaire du Prix CRM - Fields -
PIMS. L'essentiel de la carriere de Niky Kamran s'est deroule au Canada et
il travaille dans les domaines de l'analyse et de la geometrie
differentielle. Ses champs d'interet ont une tres grande portee. Les deux
principaux axes de sa recherche sont d'une part les systemes differentiels
exterieurs et la theorie de Lie, sujet central de l'analyse geometrique des
systemes d'equations aux derivees partielles, et d'autre part l'analyse
mathematique de la relativite generale.

 

Les travaux de Niky Kamran sur les systemes differentiels exterieurs ont
leurs fondements dans ceux d'Elie Cartan ou des objets geometriques locaux
sont decrits en termes de formes differentielles qui sont invariantes sous
les diffeomorphismes et sous l'action d'autres (pseudo) groupes de Lie de
dimension infinie. Les principales contributions de Niky Kamran portent sur
l'existence de solutions et la classification des symetries de dimension
infinie. Ses publications sur les sous-groupes d'isotropie de pseudogroupes
de Lie analytiques et transitifs font autorite et concernent des aspects
globaux tels la cohomologie de complexes differentiels et des aspects locaux
incluant par exemple les estimes de Malgrange qui decoulent de sa preuve du
theoreme de Cartan et Kahler.

 

Les contributions de Niky Kamran a l'analyse mathematique des equations
d'Einstein de la relativite generale ont egalement beaucoup d'influence dans
un domaine en pleine effervescence. Dans une serie d'articles importants
ecrits en collaboration avec F. Finster, J. Smoller et S.-T. Yau, Niky
Kamran etudie la stabilite des espaces - temps Lorentziens, un sujet qui est
essentiel a l'elaboration de la cosmologie contemporaine. Le point crucial,
dans ces examens de systemes d'equations d'evolution non-lineaires, est de
bien caracteriser au niveau le plus fondamental l'operateur resolvant pour
les equations linearisees. Niky Kamran et ses collaborateurs ont realise une
etude systematique des espaces - temps a trous noirs, c'est-a-dire des
solutions de Schwarzschild et Kerr pour les equations d'Einstein. Ses
travaux les plus recents portent sur les espaces de type anti - deSitter,
qui sont au cour de l'approche de la gravitation quantique connue sous le
nom de correspondance AdS - CFT.

 

Niky Kamran a publie plus de 125 articles scientifiques. Il est de surcroit
un communicateur hors pair et a ecrit des articles de survol et des
monographies qui ont eu beaucoup d'impact. Ses travaux se distinguent par
leur profondeur et leur originalite et couvrent un large spectre de sujets
majeurs; ils demontrent que leur auteur possede une vaste et profonde
culture mathematique . Les apports de Niky Kamran laisseront leur marque sur
les mathematiques canadiennes et mondiales.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://mail.cms.math.ca/pipermail/cmath/attachments/20131203/c5e70dfb/attachment.htm