Congratulations to Professor André Neves on winning breakthrough prize

Professor André Neves

Professor André Neves has been recognised with a 2016 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize for outstanding contributions to differential geometry.

The award was presented on Sunday 8 November 2015 in a live ceremony on the National Geographic Channel. 

André was recognised for his work on scalar curvature and geometric flows, and for his solution - with Fernando Codá Marques - of the Willmore Conjecture.

His award is part of the Breakthrough Prize, which aims to celebrate science and scientists, and to generate excitement about the pursuit of science as a career - hence the glitzy awards ceremony, which André describes as “nice but a bit awkward”.

“They picked the one group in society least likely to mingle with any other group and paired us with celebrities at a glittery event”, he explains. But while it may have been something of a culture shock, André does see value in raising the profile of mathematicians – providing the balance is right.

“If mathematicians had been in the public eye when I was a teenager, I would have chosen that career much earlier”, he says: “I always loved the subject, but it was only in my twenties that I realised one could make a living out of studying it. But it’s important to stress that discoveries in mathematics are almost always made when one is out of the limelight.

“Of course I was happy when I found out I had won; awards are nice - but that is not the reason I study maths. What has always attracted me is the fact that in order to answer simple questions one has to use fairly abstract concepts; I have always loved that.”

The joy of discovery

A key factor in drawing André to the judges’ attention was his role in proving the Willmore Conjecture, originally stated in 1965, by English mathematician Tom Willmore:

“When we found out the key step to proving the Willmore Conjecture, we literally had the impression that we were uncovering some little secret of nature that had been hiding all these years. That feeling of discovery was quite exciting.”

For André, coming to Imperial was a natural choice: “It has a very strong group in Geometry, headed by Sir Simon Donaldson; a very famous and generous mathematician. Being in a group where he belongs is a privilege.”

Linking students past and present

When asked what role alumni might play, André was clear on where the priority lies:

“Being able to attract good students and good postdocs is crucial. To alumni, I would say keep advertising our maths program to any exceptional young candidates you meet; research is done in collaboration, so having a good critical mass is essential.”

If you would also like to help Imperial continue to attract, reward and support outstanding students and postdocs, please visit our giving pages. Thank you.