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Date: January 20, 1999
Princeton Mathematician Elias Stein Wins Wolf Prize
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton University professor Elias M. Stein is one of two mathematicians who won the 1999 Wolf Prize, one of the highest honors in the field. The prize recognized Stein for his "fundamental contributions" to developing methods for analyzing wave energies, such as light and sound.
The Wolf Foundation, an Israeli group that awards several prizes in the arts and sciences, also applauded Stein for his "exceptional impact on a new generation of analysts through his eloquent teaching and writing." Many of Steinís students, including Princeton mathematics professor Charles Fefferman, have gone on to become leaders in mathematical analysis.
Princeton faculty have now won the Wolf Prize in mathematics for each of the last three years it was given. Yakov Sinai was a recipient in 1997; Andrew Wiles won in 1996. The prize was not given in mathematics in 1998. Stein shared this yearís prize with Laszlo Lovasz of Yale University.
Stein has spent much of his career studying and improving upon a mathematical technique called Fourier analysis. The method, invented by the 19th Century French mathematician J.B.J. Fourier, allows scientists to understand the harmonic content of waveforms. A physicist, for example, might use Fourier analysis to understand what mixture of wave frequencies, or colors, are present in a beam of light. Fourier analysis allows the display on some pieces of home stereo equipment to show what frequencies, or harmonics, are present in music as it plays.
Part of Steinís work has been to develop new methods and uses for harmonic analysis. The technique has grown beyond analysis of wave phenomena and is now a key tool for solving partial differential equations, the mathematical laws that govern most physical phenomena. The technique also has applications in fields as diverse as number theory and probability theory.
Stein, 68, is Princetonís Albert Baldwin Dod professor of mathematics. He was born in Belgium and received is BA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago, where he taught until coming to Princeton in 1963. In 1993, Stein won the Schock Prize, another prestigious award, given by the Swedish Academy of Sciences. He has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute for Advanced Study.
The late German-born diplomat Ricardo Wolf established the Wolf Prize in 1978. The prize, which includes a gift of $100,000, is awarded to outstanding scientists and artists "for achievement in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people." Each year it is awarded in four out of five scientific fields, in rotation: agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine and physics. An annual Wolf prize also rotates among architecture, music, painting and sculpture.