Brazilian mathematician Enrique R. Pujals to receive pestigious math prize

Enrique R. Pujals, associate researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada (IMPA), Brazil, has been awarded the 2008 Srinivasa Ramanujan Prize in recognition of "his outstanding contributions to dynamical systems, especially the characterization of robust dynamics for flows and transformations and the development of a theory of generic systems." The study of dynamical systems has its origins in mechanics, which predicts the motions of particles and bodies subject to Newton's laws of motion. These relatively simple laws can produce very complicated trajectories. Quantitative predictions are therefore rarely possible. Very interesting qualitative phenomena emerge, however - "chaos" among them - and the mathematical study of these phenomena remains a topic of intense interest to mathematicians. Professor Pujals received a Ph.D. in 1996 from IMPA. His past achievements include a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000 as well as the Award of the Mathematical Union of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2004. The Ramanujan Prize reflects ICTP's mandate to strengthen science in developing countries and is the only international prize honouring young mathematicians from those regions. The prize winner is selected by ICTP through a committee of five eminent mathematicians appointed in conjunction with the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The prize, which carries a US$15,000 cash award, is funded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters through the Henrik Abel Memorial Fund, with the cooperation of IMU. The Ramanujan Prize and ICTP
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) has established the Srinivasa Ramanujan Prize in honour of the mathematics genius from India. The Prize is awarded annually to a mathematician under 45 years of age. Since the mandate of ICTP is to strengthen science in developing countries, the Ramanujan Prize has been created for mathematicians from those regions of the world. Srinivasa Ramanujan is the quintessential symbol of the best in mathematics from the developing world, and naming the Prize after him seemed entirely appropriate. Based in Trieste, Italy, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics fosters advanced studies and research in physics and mathematics, especially in developing countries. The Centre operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, UNESCO and IAEA. Each year about 7000 scientists from around the world visit ICTP for workshops, training and research.