STONY BROOK, N.Y., November 16, 2005—A Stony Brook University Professor of Mathematics has been named a recipient of the National Medal of Science, one of the most prestigious academic honors that can be bestowed in the U.S. The White House announcement was made by President George W. Bush earlier this week. Dennis Sullivan, Ph.D., a Stony Brook faculty member since 1995, was one of eight people to receive the honor, which was awarded for 2004.
The National Medal of Science honors individuals for pioneering scientific research in a range of fields, including physical, biological, mathematical, social, behavioral, and engineering sciences, that enhances our understanding of the world and leads to innovations and technologies that give the United States its global economic edge. The National Science Foundation administers the award, which was established by the Congress in 1959.
Sullivan was honored for his work in developing new fields of mathematics and for discovering ways to connect seemingly unrelated disciplines. “I like to synthesize things to find a common core and use that synthesis to understand things better,” Sullivan said. “Usually if you can make a connection, then each field will contribute to the other one. I like to understand things that way. Sometimes you’re lucky and something unexpected is revealed and a new field begins.” He also is on the faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center.
Sullivan received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Princeton in 1965. He also has held faculty positions at Princeton, MIT, the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in France, and Queens College. In 1994, he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Science for his research in mathematics. The award was the second major honor received by a Stony Brook faculty member in six weeks and the second National Medal of Science award for a Stony Brook professor in two years.
Last month, Robert Aumann, Ph.D., shared the Nobel Prize in Economics for his pioneering work in game theory. Aumann is a Visiting Leading Professor and a founding member of Stony Brook’s Center for Game Theory, a branch of applied mathematics. James Glimm. Ph.D. from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, was awarded the National Medal of Science for 2002.
The other National Medal of Science winners were Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford University; Norman E. Borlaug, Texas A&M University; Robert N. Clayton, University of Chicago; Edwin N. Lightfoot, University of Wisconsin; Stephen J. Lippard, MIT; Phillip A. Sharp, MIT; and Thomas E. Starzl, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. For more information about the National Medal of Science visit www.nsf.gov/nsb/awards/nms/medal.htm.
