Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), 1979

By Fernanda Gdynia Morotti

Young Brazilian mathematician Artur Avila Cordeiro de Melo received the Fields Medal in 2014, an award considered the Nobel Prize of Mathematics, granted every four years by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The award ceremony took place during the 27th International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, South Korea. Avila was honored for “his profound contributions to the theory of dynamical systems, which have changed the face of the field.”

It was the first time that the Fields Medal was awarded to someone who graduated from an institution in the Southern Hemisphere. Avila holds a doctorate from the National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), located in Rio de Janeiro. He is also affiliated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, splitting his time between Rio and Paris.

Avila received his first medal at the age of 13 in a mathematics olympiad. At 16, he won the gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Canada, a global competition for high school students. He was awarded the Salem Prize in 2006, the EMS Prize in 2008, the Prix Jacques Herbrand in 2009, and in 2013 he was honored with France’s highest distinction, being named a Knight of the Legion of Honor.