Louis Nirenberg teaching at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University.
Photo Credit : Courant Institute, NYU.
Steven Nash and Louis Nirenberg (2015).
Photo Credit : University of Bergen
Eleazer Bromberg, James J. Stoker, and Louis Nirenberg (1960s).
Photo Credit : Courant Institute, NYU.
Louis Nirenberg.
Photo Credit : Oberwolfach Photo Collection
1925 -
Louis Nirenberg
Canadian mathematician Louis Nirenberg is considered one of the greatest theoretical analysts of the 20th century, having made singular contributions to the field of linear and nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs).
Nirenberg was born in Hamilton, Ontario, but his family soon moved to Montreal to join the larger Jewish community. He attended Baron Byng High School and then earned his undergraduate degree from McGill University, where he studied math and physics. After graduating, he joined the National Research Council of Canada, and worked on the Manhattan Project. In 1949, he obtained his doctorate from New York University (NYU), leading to a Professorship at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
Within the field of linear and nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs), Nirenberg’s contributions include the Gagliardo–Nirenberg interpolation inequality, an essential discovery in the solution of the elliptic partial differential equations, which affect many areas of mathematics; he also contributed to the formalization of a new mathematical concept known as John–Nirenberg space, which is used to study the behavior of martingales: elastic materials and games of chance. He was also instrumental in solving one of the biggest problems in physics, the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem of fluid mechanics and turbulence. His co-authored paper on solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations was honoured by the American Mathematical Society with its 2014 Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research.
Among Nirenberg’s numerous awards are the Bocher Prize for the American Mathematical Society (1959), the Crafoord Prize (1982), the Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the American Mathematical Society (1994), the National Medal of Science (1995), the first-ever Chern Medal for lifetime achievement by the International Mathematical Union and the Chern Medal Foundation (2010), and the Abel Prize from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2015).
