Talagrand was diagnosed with a genetic disease as a child. He immersed himself in his studies at that time to cope with his physical handicap.
French mathematician Michel Talagrand was honoured with the prestigious Abel Prize, hailed as the highest accolade in the field of mathematics. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters lauded Talagrand’s remarkable contributions to the mathematical realm, recognizing his profound impact on the discipline. Among his notable works is “Random Phenomena,” exemplifying his groundbreaking research and innovative insights into mathematical phenomena.
Talagrand, aged 72, joins the ranks of esteemed French mathematicians as the fifth recipient of the Abel Prize. Expressing his astonishment, he remarked, “Receiving this honour was beyond my wildest dreams. It’s truly humbling.” In a lighthearted comment to an American Daily, he quipped, “Who knows, perhaps we’ll witness an extraterrestrial arrival at the White House today.”
Talagrand was diagnosed with a genetic disease as a child. He immersed himself in his studies at that time to cope with his physical handicap. And that’s when he discovered his interest in mathematics and physics.
In 1974 the ‘French National Center for Scientific Research’ appointed him. He still did not get his PhD from Pierre and Marie Curie University. He studied ‘Functional Analysis’ for a decade. After that research on probability theory. It was during this time that he worked on the bell curve. To Talagrand’s regret, the younger generation is no longer interested in mathematics. According to him, it becomes easier to do the math. Talagrand said, “You can fail 10 times while doing a number, but if you succeed on the 11th time, the previous failure has no meaning.”
The absence of a mathematics category in the Nobel Prize led to the establishment of the Abel Prize, aiming to address this oversight. Endowed by the Government of Norway, the award is named after the renowned Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. With a prize amount totalling £858,941, the prestigious honor will be conferred upon Talagrand by King Harald V of Norway during a ceremony in Oslo on May 21st.