20 D
iversity in STE A M www.diversityinsteam.com
Mathematics
T
he Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2022 to Dennis Parnell Sullivan of Stony Brook University. He is best known for his work in algebraic and geometric topology and dynamical systems. The Abel Prize is often considered the Nobel Prize of mathematics and is recommended for recognition by the Abel Committee, a group of five internationally distinguished mathematicians. Dennis P. Sullivan has repeatedly changed the landscape of topology by introducing new concepts, proving landmark theorems, answering old conjectures and formulating new problems that have driven the field forwards, says Hans Munthe-Kaas, chair of the Abel Committee. He continues: Sullivan has moved from area to area, seemingly effortlessly, using algebraic, analytic and geometric ideas like a true virtuoso. A charismatic and lively member of the mathematics community, Sullivan has found deep connections between a dazzling variety of areas of mathematics. Over the years he has been connected to a number of universities, and during his time in France he made one of his most important breakthroughs: a new way of understanding rational homotopy theory, a subfield of algebraic topology. Topology was born in the late 19th century, as a new, qualitative approach to geometry. The field investigates the properties of objects that do not change when they are
Changing the Field of Mathematics:
Dennis Parnell Sullivan
Dennis Parnell Sullivan, 2022 Abel Prize laureate.
PHOTO CREDIT: JOHN GRIFFIN/STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY/ABEL PRIZE
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