Math whiz
The 1999 Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement went to Richard V. Kadison, Ph.D., Kuemmerle Professor of Mathematics. The prize, considered the American equivalent of a Nobel, was awarded by the American Mathematical Society on Jan. 14.
Kadison is one of the founders and leading exponents of the theory of operator algebras, a subject providing the mathematical framework for the basic structure of quantum mechanics.
The prize seeks to highlight individuals who not only conduct outstanding research but offer guidance and training to doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows.
Kadison is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of the Royal Danish and the Norwegian Academies of Sciences. He has held Fulbright, Sloan and Guggenheim fellowships, and was awarded honorary degrees from the University of Copenhagen and the Université d'Aix-Marseille.
He has published nearly 100 papers and, with J. Ringrose, one of the definitive treatises on the operator algebras theory.
