A mathematical genius from the Mark Zuckerberg Foundation has won a 2.3 million prize for executing complex equations as a result of stirring a cup of tea.
Martin Haier, 44, of Imperial College London, hit the jackpot as the winner of the 2021 Breakthrough Award for Mathematics.
The Austrian-British researcher, who lives in London with his mathematician wife Jiu-Mai Lee, was working on stochastic analysis.
Based on the calculus of the Japanese mathematician Kiyoshi Ito, the field showed him how random effects turned mathematics into a complex problem for subjects such as tea.
His work is so complex that it amazes other mathematicians as well.
Jeremy Questel, a professor of mathematics at the University of Toronto, once joked with his colleagues: ‘The theory must be transmitted from aliens.’
Professor Haier is now looking to buy a house in London with his wife when the prize money goes into his account.
Martin Haier, 44, from Imperial College London, hit the jackpot as the winner of the 2021 Breakthrough Math Award
Mathematical genius from the foundation of Mark Zuckerberg won a 2.3 million prize for executing complex equations by stirring a cup of tea
The picture is an example of Professor Haier’s mind-armpit equations displayed on his website
The mathematician created a 180-page book on the concept of ‘regularity structures’, which stunned rivals and saw that he must have received it from intelligent aliens.
Zuckerberg and Israeli-Russian investor Yuri Milner created Skype during the lockdown – the results Britain received for the 2021 Breakthrough Award in Mathematics.
He said: ‘I was surprised but obviously I was very honored. I would be very happy if I could inspire a lot of people to study math or get a better understanding of what math is.
‘Mathematics is true. This applies forever if you discover something in mathematics. ‘
Talent was born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, where his advanced intelligence was quickly discovered.
At a school science event he created a software that became Amadeus, known as the ‘Swiss Army Knife for Sound Editing’, which is widely used in the music industry.
Professor Hayer studied mathematics at the University of Geneva – where his father, Professor Ernst Hayer – was a mathematician – before graduating with a PhD in physics.
He went back to mathematics, realizing that the work of theoretical physics could be quickly written and forgotten.
He said: ‘I really don’t want to put my name on a fruit that could go beyond three years.
‘If you get results in math, that’s it. This is the universality of mathematics, you discover the perfect truth. ‘
Professor Hier’s specialty is the stochastic partial differential equation, which looks at how random works confuse general subjects.
The Austrian-British researcher, who lives in London with his mathematician wife Jiu-Mei Lee (pictured), was working on stochastic analysis.
An illustration of the complex equations of the Austrian-British professor from his website
This can be due to the movement of air in an air tunnel or how a drop of water flows when it hits a tissue.
But when the random law is too strong the equation can become extremely difficult to solve.
Professor Haier explained his research by saying: ‘I study a kind of mathematics they call stochastic partial differential equations.
‘These are the kind of equations that you try to study that evolve over time, but also arise depending on the place.
‘For example, like the wind in an air tunnel you want to model the flow of air but of course it depends on time because it changes with time but it also depends on the place – the wind speed is different at different points is wind tunnel.
‘So if you have a system that is further developed under the influence of randomness.
‘So if you have the randomness that enters the game, it’s described by the stochastic partial differential equation.’
Professor Haier’s regulation structure, published in 2014, made it possible to suppress random laws and reject them anew, allowing him to solve equations.
The mathematician, who speaks French, German, Austrian and English, won the Fields Medal in 2014 – one of the highest math honors – and was knighted in 2016.
Professor Alice Gast, president of Imperial College London, said: ‘The success of Martin Haier has deepened our understanding of the stochastic process.
Miriam Mirzakhani, Martin Haier and Manjul Bhargava have been awarded the 2014 Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, South Korea.
‘He brings clarity to previously understood random events and equations.
‘His creativity and deep insights have led to strong advances in mathematics, physics, computing and finance.
‘Martin Imperial, Inspirational Ambassador for Mathematics and Science Break He deserves the Breakthrough Award
Rock music lovers are also popular among design, music producers and gaming companies and the creators of an award-winning sound-editing program called Amadeus, a lucrative sideline.
While he’s not working, he enjoys Stephen King novels, cooks Asian-Western fusion food, skies and walks in the countryside with his wife.
Analyst. Amateur problem solver. Wannabe internet expert. Coffee geek. Tv guru. Award-winning communicator. Food nerd.
