Uffe Haagerup wins Latsis prize for operator algebra

The European Science Foundation has awarded this year’s Latsis prize to Professor Uffe Haagerup, an eminent mathematician at the University of Copenhagen.

Haagerup received the award for his groundbreaking contributions to operator algebra, in addition to other new and challenging areas of mathematics.

Funded by the Geneva-based Latsis Foundation, the prize is valued at 100,000 Swiss francs (US$107,000). The prize is awarded to an individual or a research group who, in the opinion of their peers, has made the greatest contribution to a particular field of European research, which this year is mathematics.

Haagerup has authored more than 90 academic papers. He was awarded the Samuel Friedman Award in 1985, the Ole Roemer Award in 1989 and a Humboldt Research Award in 2008.

He first achieved recognition, and then fame, for his ability to solve difficult challenges left open by other distinguished mathematicians. Most of his work has been in the field of operator algebra, territories known as ‘Banach space’ and other problems in pure mathematics that have important applications in quantum field theory.

His name is widely cited in mathematical circles and he is also one of a rare class of researchers whose names have entered the mathematical lexicon: there is a Haagerup property, and a result acclaimed as ‘the extended Haagerup’.

The criteria used in the selection procedure are scientific excellence, the enhancement of knowledge, societal impact and contribution to European progress. The nominations were evaluated by a jury of eminent scientists in the field.

Professor Mats Gyllenberg, chair of the jury that recommended Haagerup as the winner of this year’s prize, commented: “Professor Uffe Haagerup is a highly esteemed mathematician. He was chosen for this award because of his unique achievements and contributions to mathematics”.