Balzan Prize in Mathematics


The Balzan Prize is awarded by the Balzan Foundation. It was established in 1956 by Lina Balzan using the large inheritance on the death of her father Eugenio Balzan. Eugenio Francesco Balzan (1874-1953) was born in northern Italy. He worked for the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera. He made a fortune with skilful investments in Switzerland. He left Italy to live in Switzerland in 1933 because of the Fascist Italian government.

Two Balzan Prizes are awarded each year in the category ''literature, moral sciences, and the arts', and two Balzan Prizes are awarded each year in the category 'physical, mathematical, and natural sciences, and medicine'. Subject areas are rotated within the categories. We list below winners of the Balzan Prize in Mathematics and some winners in related areas.

1. Winners of the Balzan Prize for Mathematics.

Andrej Kolmogorov (1962) for Mathematics:

For his contributions to the development of new mathematical disciplines, in particular, the study of functions and the calculation of probabilities, which have shed light on other disciplines.

Enrico Bombieri (1980) for Mathematics:

For his studies on the theory of numbers and minimal surfaces, resulting in research and scientific production that has placed him at the forefront of today's mathematics.

Jean-Pierre Serre (1985) for Mathematics:

For his pioneering work in and major contributions to algebraic topology, algebraic geometry and number theory, in particular, for his original in-depth renewal of the foundations and techniques of algebraic topology and geometry.

Armand Borel (1992) for Mathematics:

For his fundamental contributions to the theory of Lie groups, algebraic groups, and arithmetic groups, and for his indefatigable action in favour of high quality in mathematical research and the propagation of new ideas.

Mikhail Gromov (1999) for Mathematics:

For his numerous, most original and profound contributions to geometry in its various forms, and for the way in which he has applied them to many other domains of mathematics and of theoretical physics.

Pierre Deligne (2004) for Mathematics:

For major contributions to several important domains of mathematics (including algebraic geometry, algebraic and analytic number theory, group theory, topology, and Grothendieck theory of motives), enriching them with new and powerful tools and with magnificent results such as his spectacular proof of the Riemann hypothesis over finite fields (Weil conjectures).

Jacob Palis (2010) for Mathematics (Pure and Applied):

For his fundamental contributions to the mathematical theory of dynamical systems.

Dennis Sullivan (2014) for Mathematics (Pure/Applied):

For his major contributions to topology and the theory of dynamical systems, opening new perspectives for generations to come. For his exceptional results in many fields of mathematics, such as topology, geometry, the theory of Kleinian groups, analysis, and number theory.

Detlef Lohse (2018) for Fluid Dynamics:

For his exceptional contributions in the most diverse fields of fluid dynamics, such as the transition to turbulent regimes in the Rayleigh-Bénard convection, the study of multi-phase turbulent flow, sonoluminescence, the properties of bubbles and drops down to a microscopic level, and micro and nano fluidics.

Luigi Ambrosio (2019) for Theory of Partial Differential Equations:

Luigi Ambrosio is a remarkable mathematician whose astonishing capacity for synthesis has made it possible to create hitherto unimaginable bridges between partial differential equations and the calculus of variation. His influence on the analysis of very general spaces is exceptional.

2. Winners of the Balzan Prize in Astronomy.

Jan Hendrik Oort (1984) for Astrophysics:

For having exerted a profound influence on 20th century astronomy. Jan Hendrik Oort is acknowledged all over the world as a leader in this field because of his pioneering investigations on galactic rotation, on the distribution of hydrogen in the galaxies, and on gaseous clouds in intergalactic space; he has played a leading role in introducing and using radioastronomy as a tool in studying cosmic physics.

Martin John Rees (1989) for High Energy Astrophysics:

Martin John Rees is a leading theoretician in the field of high energy astrophysics and has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of quasars, active galactic nuclei, neutron stars, black holes in cosmic X-ray sources, the formation of galaxies, and a number of other problems of current interest.

Fred Hoyle (1994) joint winner for Astrophysics (evolution of stars):

For his pioneering contributions to the theory of stellar evolution, upon which the modern development of the field is founded.

Martin Schwarzschild (1994) joint winner for Astrophysics (evolution of stars):

For his pioneering contributions to the theory of stellar evolution, upon which the modern development of the field is founded.

Reinhard Genzel (2003) for Infrared Astronomy:

Professor Reinhard Genzel has made fundamental contributions to infrared astronomy. He has developed instrumentation which enabled him and colleagues to make outstanding discoveries, including evidence for a massive black hole in the centre of our galaxy.

Andrew Lange (2006) joint winner for Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics:

For his contributions to cosmology, in particular the BOOMERanG Antarctic balloon experiment.

Paolo de Bernardis (2006) joint winner for Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics:

For his contributions to cosmology, in particular the BOOMERanG Antarctic balloon experiment.

Joseph Ivor Silk (2011) for The Early Universe (From the Planck Time to the First Galaxies):

For his pioneering work on the early evolution of the Universe, studying the effects of various physical processes and phenomena such as dark matter and space curvature on the fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the formation of galaxies of different types.

Francis Halzen (2015) for Astroparticle Physics Including Neutrino and Gamma-ray Observation:

For his unparalleled accomplishments which have led to the construction of the large IceCube Neutrino Observatory in the south polar ice, a facility that has opened up a new window into the Universe through the study of cosmological high-energy neutrinos.

Michaël Gillon (2017) for The Sun's Planetary System and Exoplanets:

For his innovative and fruitful searches for planets around nearby stars, milestones on the way towards finding life signatures beyond our solar system.

Alessandra Buonanno (2021) joint winner for Gravitation: Physical And Astrophysical Aspects:

For her leadership in the prediction of the gravitational-wave signals produced when compact objects like neutron stars and black holes spiral together and eventually merge. Her work was instrumental in the detection of gravitational waves, providing an extremely accurate confirmation of general relativity as the theory of gravitation, and allowing the LIGO and Virgo detectors to promote a type of astronomy which uses gravitational waves as new, powerful messengers of the universe.

Thibault Damour (2021) joint winner for Gravitation: Physical and Astrophysical Aspects:

For his leadership in the prediction of the gravitational-wave signals produced when compact objects like neutron stars and black holes spiral together and eventually merge. His work was instrumental in the detection of gravitational waves, providing an extremely accurate confirmation of general relativity as the theory of gravitation, and allowing the LIGO and Virgo detectors to promote a type of astronomy which uses gravitational waves as new, powerful messengers of the universe.

3. Winners of the Balzan Prize in History of Science.

Otto Neugebauer (1986) for History of Science:

For his fundamental research into the exact sciences in the ancient world, in particular, on ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek astronomy, which has put our understanding of ancient science on a new footing and illuminated its transmission to the classical and medieval worlds. For his outstanding success in promoting interest and further research in the history of science.

Paolo Rossi Monti (2009) for History of Science:

For his major contributions to the study of the intellectual foundations of science from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment.