The mathematician Prof. Dr. Hugo Duminil-Copin, who has received several awards, gave the keynote lecture at this year's Weierstraß-Lecture at the Paderborn University on Friday, 12 May. The scientist was awarded the Fields Medal last year. It is the highest award in the field of mathematics and has a comparable reputation to the Nobel Prize, which does not exist in this discipline.
"The Weierstraß-Lecture is one of the annual highlights of our university and I am very pleased that we are able to welcome such a renowned scientist as Professor Duminil-Copin here in Paderborn," said Prof. Dr. Johannes Blömer, Vice-President for Research and Young Scientists, who welcomed the guests to the packed lecture hall on behalf of the Presidential Board.
Duminil-Copin works on the interface of probability theory, combinatorics and mathematical physics. He has received the Oberwolfach Prize and the New Horizons in Mathematics Prize for his work, among others. In 2022, he received the Fields Medal for "solving long-standing problems in the probabilistic theory of phase transitions in statistical physics, in particular in dimensions three and four." At his talk, he spoke on "Critical Phenomena Through the Lens of the Ising Model" - the focus of his research.
The series of events is named after Karl Weierstrass (1815-1897), who graduated from the Gymnasium Theodorianum in Paderborn in 1834 as "primus omnium", i.e. the best graduate of the school. Weierstrass is one of the most important mathematicians of the 19th century. Among other things, he is considered the founder of modern analysis.
The lecture, which has been held annually since 2011, consists of a commemorative lecture and an introductory historical lecture. This year, the latter was given by Prof. Dr Annette Vogt from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Vogt gave an overview of the history of mathematics as a scientific discipline.
In the evening, Duminil-Copin signed the Golden Book of the City of Paderborn. The report is available on the website of the city of Paderborn.
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