Two Japanese Mathematicians Win 2013 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
College Park, Md., March 13, 2013 — The American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the American Physical Society (APS ) are pleased to announce that mathematicians Michio Jimbo, of Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Japan, and Tetsuji Miwa, of Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan, have been selected as joint recipients of the 2013 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, which is given annually to recognize outstanding work in the field.
Their joint citation reads: “For profound developments in integrable systems and their correlation functions in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory, making use of quantum groups, algebraic analysis, and deformation theory.”
The prize is awarded on behalf of the Heineman Foundation by AIP and APS and will be presented to Jimbo and Miwa at the 2013 APS March Meeting in Baltimore, Md. The honorees will receive a certificate and split the $10,000 award.
“I am very honored to be selected as a recipient for the 2013 Heineman Prize,” Miwa said. “I am grateful to Michio Jimbo for the long-term collaboration. I also feel, as I am sure Michio feels, strong gratitude to the many people we met on our journey in the field of Integrable Systems and Representation Theory.”
Jimbo added, “I am very grateful to Miwa for the collaboration over nearly 40 years, and to all the friends and colleagues from whom I learned a great deal.”
Michio Jimbo received his bachelor’s degree in 1974 from the University of Tokyo and his doctorate in 1986 from Kyoto University. Between 1976 and 1988 he worked as a research associate at the Research Institute for Mathematical Science (RIMS), at Kyoto University. In 1988 he became an associate professor of the Department of Mathematics at Kyoto University, where he later became full professor. In 2000 he moved to the University of Tokyo. He is currently a professor at Rikkyo University, in Tokyo.
Tetsuji Miwa graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tokyo in 1971, and received his doctorate from Kyoto University in 1981. In 1973, he joined RIMS, where he collaborated with Michio Jimbo and others. Since 1993 he has worked as a professor at Kyoto University.
Jimbo and Miwa study mathematical systems that can be used to describe fundamental physics problems. Their work gives physicists new tools to model and understand the highly complex world of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics.
The two researchers have previously been jointly awarded the Autumn Prize of the Mathematical Society of Japan and the Asahi Prize, which is given by the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. The Asahi Prize is awarded to individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of academics and arts and have greatly contributed to the development and progress of Japanese culture and society at large.
The Heineman Prize is named after Dannie N. Heineman, an engineer, business executive, and philanthropic sponsor of the sciences. The prize was established in 1959 by the Heineman Foundation for Research, Education, Charitable and Scientific Purposes, Inc.
About American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics is an organization of 10 physical science societies, representing more than 135,000 scientists, engineers, and educators. Through its Physics Resources Center, AIP delivers valuable services and expertise in education and student programs, science communications, government relations, career services for science and engineering professionals, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach, and the history of physics and allied fields. AIP publishes the flagship magazine, Physics Today, and is also home to Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences.
About APS
The American Physical Society is a non-profit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. APS represents over 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and throughout the world. Society offices are located in College Park, MD (Headquarters), Ridge, NY, and Washington, DC.
