Mathematics People

(CAV) award “for a series of fundamental contributions Atiyah Honored by French resulting in significant advances in scalability of model Academy checking tools.” His work has addressed the central chal- lenge of the high computational complexity of algorithmic Sir Michael F. Atiyah, honorary professor at Edinburgh verification. He has produced a series of outstanding University, has been awarded the Grande Médaille of the contributions to the CAV field by suggesting new theo- Institut de France Académie des Sciences. ries, techniques, and tools for advancing the scalability Atiyah was born in London in 1929 and grew up in of model checking. The CAV award is given annually Sudan and Egypt. He received his undergraduate and in recognition of a specific fundamental contribution graduate degrees from Trinity College, Cambridge. He or a series of outstanding contributions to the field of has been a fellow and a master at Trinity College and computer-aided verification and includes a cash award has also held professorships at Princeton University and of US$10,000. It was presented at the CAV conference in Oxford University. He and Friedrich Hirzebruch created Edinburgh, Scotland, in July 2010. topological K-theory, a major tool in algebraic topology, which describes the ways in which high-dimensional space —Orna Grumberg, Israel Institute of Technology can be twisted. His best-known work, with Isadore Singer, is the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, which can be used to count the number of independent solutions of many MAA Awards Presented important differential equations. He has also worked on topics inspired by theoretical physics, such as instantons The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) presented and monopoles, that are responsible for some subtle cor- several awards for excellence in expository writing at rections in quantum field theory. its Summer MathFest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 and the Abel August 5–7, 2010. Prize in 2004 jointly with Isadore Singer. Other honors in- The Carl B. Allendoerfer Awards are given for articles clude the Royal Medal (1968) and the Copley Medal (1988) of expository excellence published in Mathematics Maga- of the Royal Society, the DeMorgan Medal of the London zine. They carry a cash award of US$500. The awardees for Mathematical Society (1980), and the Gibbs Lectureship 2010 are Ezra Brown and Keith Mellinger, “Kirkman’s of the AMS (1991). schoolgirls wearing hats and walking through fields of The Grande Médaille is annually bestowed on foreign numbers”, Mathematics Magazine, February 2009; and scholars who have significantly contributed to the devel- David Speyer and Bernd Sturmfels, “Tropical math- opment of science in an influential way, both through ematics”, Mathematics Magazine, June 2009. the originality of their personal research and by their The Trevor Evans Awards are presented to authors of international presence and the stimulating influence that exceptional articles that are accessible to undergraduates they have had through the creation of a true school of and published in Math Horizons. The amount of the cash research. It is the highest honor the society can award award is US$250. The awardees for 2010 are Pamela foreign members. Pierce, John Ramsay, Hannah Roberts, Nancy Tinoza, Atiyah is the second mathematician to receive the Jeffrey Willert, and Wenyuan Wu, “The circle-square award. Robert Langlands won the medal in 2000. problem decomposed”, Math Horizons, November 2009. The Lester R. Ford Awards are given for articles of —From a French Academy of Sciences announcement expository excellence published in The American Mathe- matical Monthly. The award carries a cash prize of US$250. The recipients for 2010 are Tom M. Apostol and Mamikon McMillan Receives CAV Award A. Mnatsakanian, “New insight into cycloidal areas”, American Mathematical Monthly, August–September 2009; Kenneth L. McMillan of Cadence Research Laboratories Judith Grabiner, “Why did Lagrange ‘prove’ the paral- has been awarded the 2010 Computer-Aided Verification lel postulate?”, American Mathematical Monthly, January

1318 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 57, NUMBER 10 Mathematics People

2009; Jerzy Kocik and Andrzej Solecki, “Disentangling 2002, he led a research seminar at the Summer Institute a triangle”, American Mathematical Monthly, March 2009; in Mathematics for Undergraduates (SIMU). Since then, Robert Palais, Richard Palais, and Stephen Rodi, “A he has run his own summer research program at Tulane disorienting look at Euler’s theorem on the axis of a rota- University. In 2007 the Mathematical Sciences Research tion”, American Mathematical Monthly, December 2009; Institute Undergraduate Program (MSRI-UP) was founded Mike Paterson Uri Zwick, and and “Overhang”, American under his leadership. Mathematical Monthly, January 2009. SACNAS is a society of scientists dedicated to foster- The George Pólya Award is given for articles of ex- ing the success of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American pository excellence published in the College Mathemat- scientists—from college students to professionals—in ics Journal. It carries a cash award of US$500. The 2010 attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of lead- honorees are Andrew Barker, “Evolutionary stability in ership. The award was presented at the SACNAS national the traveler’s dilemma”, The College Mathematics Journal, January 2009, and Curtis Feist and Ramin Naimi, “To- conference in Anaheim, California, in September. pology explains why automobile sunshades fold oddly”, College Mathematics Journal, March 2009. —From a SACNAS announcement —From an MAA announcement AWM Essay Contest Winners Leder Awarded Felix Klein Announced Medal The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) has announced the winners of its 2010 essay contest, “Biog- Gilah Leder of La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, raphies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics”. Australia, has been awarded the Felix Klein Medal for The grand prize was awarded to Lucy A. Bailey 2009 of the International Commission on Mathemati- of St. Petersburg High School, Florida, for her essay cal Instruction (ICMI) “in recognition of her more than “Ms. Lynn Pippenger: Adding it up from accounting thirty years of sustained, consistent, and outstanding to finance executive”. This essay won first place in lifetime achievements in mathematics education research the grades 9–12 category and will be published in the and development.” Beginning as a secondary teacher of AWM Newsletter. mathematics, Leder became a researcher in mathematics First place in the college category went to Corinne education, with a particular emphasis on gender success Ducey, Smith College, for her essay “Jan de Regt, senior and equity in mathematics education. Her interest focused systems engineer systems engineering = How her mind more broadly on students’ affects, attitudes, beliefs, and works”. First place in the grades 6–8 category was awarded self-concepts in relation to mathematics education at Ada Li levels ranging from school to university. She has made sig- to , Walter S. Parker Middle School, Reading, Massa- nificant accomplishments in assessment in mathematics chusetts, for “Math is more than just numbers: Biography education, in working with mathematically able students, of Professor Jenny Baglivo”. in research methodology, in supervision of graduate stu- dents, and in teacher education. The ICMI is a commission —From an AWM announcement of the International Mathematical Union (IMU). Its aim is to facilitate the transmission of information on all aspects of the theory and practice of contemporary mathematical U.S. Team Results at China education from an international perspective. Girls’ Olympiad —From an ICMI announcement A team of high school girls from the United States finished second in the 2010 China Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (CGMO) behind a team from China. The Mathematical Cortez Receives SACNAS Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) sponsored the partici- Distinguished Undergraduate pation of the girls in the competition. The team that won second place was made up of Jae Eui Shin, Elizabeth Synge, Institution Mentor Award Lynelle Ye, and Shijie Joy Zheng. The overall individual Ricardo Cortez of Tulane University has been named results for the U.S. team were as follows: Gold Medals— the 2010 recipient of the SACNAS Distinguished Under- Shin, Synge, Ye, Zheng, Shiyu Li; Silver Medal—Cynthia graduate Mentor Award. The award recognizes exemplary Day; Bronze Medal—Adisa Kruayatidee; Honorable Men- scientific achievement, teaching, and mentorship of under- tion—Andi Wang. The international competition was held represented minority students. Cortez has been involved August 9–13 in Shijiazhuang, China. in summer research programs for minority undergradu- ates since he was a graduate student. In the summer of —From an MSRI announcement

NOVEMBER 2010 NOTICES OF THE AMS 1319