Lars Hormander

views updated

Lars Hormander

1931-

Swedish mathematician whose work on partial differential equations—fiendishly difficult to solve—was rewarded with the Fields Medal, the highest honor in mathematics, in 1962. Hormander followed this achievement with his monumental work, The Analysis of Linear Partial Differential Operators, a four-volume text that expanded on his Fields Medal-winning work. After a four-year appointment at the Institute for Advanced Study, Hormander returned to Sweden as Chair of Mathematics at the University of Lund.