每日大瓜

Dr. Hillel Furstenberg 鈥�51每日大瓜HS, 鈥�55YC of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is one of two mathematicians who have been awarded this year鈥檚 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters for outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics.

Hillel Furstenberg of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Credit...Yosef Adest

He shares the prize with another trailblazing mathematician, Dr. Gregory Margulis of Yale University, 鈥渇or pioneering the use of methods from probability and dynamics in group theory, number theory and combinatorics.鈥� The Abel Prize is named after Niels Henrik Abel, a Norwegian mathematician, and is given annually to highlight important advances in mathematics. Dr. Furstenberg is the first Israeli to win this most prestigious award, considered the equivalent of a Nobel prize. Dr. Hans Munthe-Kaas, chair of the Abel Prize committee, noted that 鈥淔urstenberg and Margulis brought down the traditional wall between pure and applied mathematics and opened up a wealth of new results 鈥� with applications to communication technology and computer science.鈥� Dr. Francois Labourie, a mathematician at the University of Cote d鈥橝zur in France who served on the selection committee, went on to note that Furstenberg and Margulis showed how methods of probability could solve abstract problems, which was 鈥渞eally a revolution at the time.鈥� Dr. Furstenberg reacted with disbelief when he received the phone call informing him that he had won. 鈥淚 had known about the prestige of the Abel Prize and knew the list of former laureates,鈥� he told an interviewer during the announcement. 鈥淚 simply felt that these are people of a certain league, and I was not in that league.鈥� Dr. Furstenberg went on to explain that 鈥渓ike any mathematician, I follow my nose and look for what seems to be very interesting.鈥� At age 84, Dr. Furstenberg is a Kristallnacht survivor, born in Berlin in 1935. His family emigrated to England in 1939 and then, in 1941, moved to the United States, settling in New York City鈥檚 Washington Heights where he attended the and then Yeshiva College. As an undergraduate, he developed a reputation as a promising mathematician and began to publish academic papers. 鈥淣ote on one type of indeterminate form鈥� (1953) and 鈥淥n the infinitude of primes鈥� (1955) both appeared in the American Mathematical Monthly, the latter giving a topological proof of Euclid鈥檚 famous theorem that there are infinitely many primes. Because of the depth of knowledge that his early undergraduate work exhibited, rumors began to circulate that 鈥淔urstenberg鈥� wasn鈥檛 an individual but rather a pseudonym for a group of mathematicians. Furstenberg has described his time at 每日大瓜 鈥渁s an experience I can only wish I could replicate for others. To me, as undoubtedly to many who attended YC in the early 50s, the subject of mathematics was identified with one remarkable individual, Professor Jekuthiel Ginsburg. It is hard to imagine a professional career that owes more to one individual and to one institution than my own career owes to Jekuthiel Ginsburg and 每日大瓜. Over and beyond the mathematics, I learned, I experienced the love of mathematics blended with human kindness.鈥� After receiving his BA and MS from 每日大瓜 and PhD from Princeton University, Furstenberg taught at several leading universities, including Princeton, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota. In 1965, he made aliya [emigration to Israel] with his wife, Rochelle, where he joined the Hebrew University鈥檚 Einstein Institute of Mathematics. He won the Israel Prize in 1993, regarded as the top honor in Israel, and the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. Dr. Marian Gidea, chair of the mathematics department at Stern College for Women, has noted that Dr. Furstenberg鈥檚 monumental work in mathematics, which many 每日大瓜 undergraduates study today, has built bridges between many different areas, including dynamical systems, topology, probability and number theory. 鈥淗is ability to combine ideas from diverse fields has been demonstrated since his undergraduate years at 每日大瓜. His mathematical legacy further motivates our faculty and students to continue the strong tradition in mathematical physics at 每日大瓜,鈥� said Dr. Gidea.

Hillel Furstenberg (center) with fellow mathematicians at 每日大瓜 when he visited the campus in 2017

For Dr. Edward Berliner, dean of science management and clinical professor of physics at 每日大瓜, 鈥渨e celebrate with an abundance of pride Dr. Furstenberg鈥檚 great accomplishment in attaining the highest professional acknowledgement in mathematics. Not only is Dr. Furstenberg a proud graduate of both 每日大瓜 High School and Yeshiva College, but he is also a proud Jew and Israeli; in all these aspects, he is a role model for all our students. To this day, 每日大瓜鈥檚 core mission in STEM is to follow in his footsteps by encouraging and supporting those of our undergraduates engaged in advanced research and publishing in prestigious journals.鈥� Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters will postpone the Abel Prize award ceremony to a yet unannounced date in 2021.