Kazan University Plans to Introduce a Prize for Young Mathematicians and Establish an International Department of Geometry

This and other plans were voiced today at a press briefing dedicated to the Lobachevsky Medal ceremonies of December 1st.

Presenting the plans were Vice-Rector Dmitry Tayursky, Chairman of the Lobachevsky Prize Jury Marat Arslanov, and Professor Tudor Ratiu of the Polytechnic School of Lausanne.

Dr. Arslanov spoke about the difficult choosing process, “We faced a very complicated choice. All nominees are prominent geometers, and everyone deserved the prize. On August 29th we convened for the decision. There were three rounds of secret ballots. Professor Richard Schoen won by 8 votes to 5 in the final.”

“Professor Schoen is an outstanding geometer, one of the most distinguished mathematicians, and not only in geometry. You can say that his works have a certain influence on other fields of mathematics. From the 13 contestants we chose the first among the equals.”

Professor Ratiu concurred, “In his time, Lobachevsky made a revolutionary turn in geometry. Professor Schoen did basically the same. He made a very significant contribution to the geometrization of modern science. Geometry enters our life everywhere today. Professor Schoen’s merits in this area are undisputable.”

This will be Dr. Schoen's third award this year – he has already got the Wolf Prize and the Rolf Schock Prize.

Dr. Arslanov noted that the renewed Lobachevsky Medal will be awarded at least once every five years (maybe as often as biennially, depending on the funding and the situation in this scientific field in general), and the University plans to introduce a prize for young mathematicians in between that.

Vice-Rector Tayursky added, “We have obtained grant funding for a mathematical center in Kazan. We will invite mathematicians to train young PhD candidates and researchers. We also have ambitious plans to create an international department of geometry. This will be a completely innovative structural unit for geometers to come together and discuss problems. We hope that in some time, and with the help of this Lobachevsky Prize, we will be able to open this department.”

Speaking about the history of the Prize, Dr. Tayursky said that the decision to revive it was made in 2016, and the Board of Trustees approved it on March 9th, 2017. He thanked Chairman of the Board of Trustees, President Rustam Minnikhanov for supporting the initiative.