19/03/2021
Abel Prize 2021 Awarded For Enriching Link Between Mathematics and Computer Science
László Lovász and Avi Wigderson have been awarded for helping develop the field of computational complexity that mainly studies the speed and efficiency of computer algorithms.
This year’s Abel Prize has been awarded to two researchers -- László Lovász belonging to the Alfred Renyi Institute of Mathematics in Budapest, Hungary, and Avi Wigderson belonging to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,US.
The Abel Prize has been awarded to them “for their foundational contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, and their leading role in shaping them into central fields of modern mathematics”—reads a statement of the Abel Prize website. The award is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel.
Abel Prize is one of the most prestigious honours in the field of mathematics and is often equated to the Nobel Prize in Mathematics. This award is given by the Abel committee appointed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Since its inception in 2002, this prize has been awarded annually to outstanding mathematicians.
Lovász and Wigderson helped developing the field of computational complexity and, in fact, were among the pioneers in the field. The field of computational complexity mainly studies the speed and efficiency of computer algorithms.
Fundamentally, algorithms are sets of instructions to be followed in order to complete a task. The task could include solving an equation or determining the shortest route between two places or grouping of words in alphabetical order and so on. Any computer programme designed to solve such problems have an algorithm, that is, a list of instructions with the help of which such a problem can be solved.
In our day-to-day lives we often deal with computer apps designed to solve such problems. But, some app
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Interview with László Lovász from the Abel Prize announcement 2021 by Alex Bellos.