Daniel T. Wise receives Lobachevsky Medal and Prize from Kazan Federal University

Prime Minister of Tatarstan Aleksey Pesoshin and Rector Ilshat Gafurov congratulated the winner at a ceremony on 2nd December.

In his opening speech, Rector Gafurov noted that Lobachevsky’s professional activities were multifaceted. He was a rector, an architectural supervisor, a librarian, a publisher, and a science administrator. However, he became famous for his introduction of non-Euclidean geometry.

“Mathematics has been and will be a cornerstone of classical education, and the Lobachevsky Medal and Prize is our token of memory and respect to the man who laid the foundation for mathematical education at Kazan University,” said Dr. Gafurov.

Head of the Prize Jury, Professor Marat Arslanov spoke about this year’s contest.

Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin shared congratulations, “Thanks to the activities of many generations of scientists, Tatarstan today is a powerful center of mathematical science. There are three institutes at Kazan University specializing in research in this area. In addition, there is the IT Lyceum - one of the best secondary schools in Russia. The President and the Prime Minister of Tatarstan are ready to provide possible support to all the initiatives of our universities in this area. I congratulate Professor Wise and wish Kazan University to continue the glorious tradition of awarding the Lobachevsky Medal and Prize.”

“I am proud to be here today. Many thanks to the International Jury for this high opinion of my work,” replied Dr. Wise before presenting a brief lecture about his contributions to the virtually Haken hypothesis, the body of work for which he was commended today.

After this, the Kids’ Theater of Kazan University showed a short play about Lobachevsky and his time, much to the joy of all the viewers. Finally, the first screening of a documentary, The Lobachevsky Space, was held. According to Dr. Gafurov, the film’s goal is to show that the principles laid by Lobachevsky have remained unchanged throughout its history.

Source text: Alina Iskanderova

Photos: Nikita Tokhtasinov

Translation: Yury Nurmeev