The Abel Prize awarded Thompson and Tits

Today, His Majesty King Harald presented the Abel Prize for 2008 to the two mathematicians, John Griggs Thompson of the USA and Jacques Tits of France. The ceremony took place in the University of Oslo Aula. The King was accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Sonja. The two prize winners will share the prize money, which amounts to NOK 6 million.

Thompson and Tits have won the prize for their contributions to what is referred to as group theory. The Abel Committee Chairman, Professor Kristian Seip, said in his explanation that the prize is awarded “for their outstanding achievements in algebra and especially for their shaping of modern group theory”.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is responsible for awarding the prize, and the Academy’s President, Ole Didrik Lærum, noted in his speech that the Abel Prize was not just established to honour outstanding scientific achievements, but also to promote a greater appreciation in the society of the importance of mathematics and to stimulate young people’s interest in the subject.

The composer and pianist Ketil Bjørnstad, the mezzo-soprano Randi Stene and the violist Lars Anders Tomter provided the ceremony’s musical performances.

The Norwegian government took the initiative to establish the Abel Prize several years ago, and Niels Henrik Abel’s Memorial Fund was established in 2001. The return from the fund is utilised in a number of activities in order to stimulate mathematical interest, among other things through the Abel Prize. The so-called Holmboe Prize, named after Niels Henrik Abel’s teacher, was awarded on Monday. This prize goes to a teacher who shows a special enthusiasm for mathematics in his/her instruction. This year’s prize was awarded to Elisabeth Aksnes at the Bryne School.

Prior to the presentation of the prize in the Aula, Thompson and Tits had an audience with His Majesty King Harald and Her Majesty Queen Sonja at the Royal Palace. The final event of the day will be the banquet given by the Norwegian government at Akershus Fortress, where Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland is the host.

Tomorrow (May 21, 2008), the two prize winners will hold their Abel Lectures at the University of Oslo.

(Via: http://www.abelprisen.no/en/)

For more information of the winners:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Tits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Griggs_Thompson

Artık Yüksek Lisans mezunuyum – I am an M.S Graduate now

Sonunda emeklerimin ödülünü aldım. Artık Yüksek Lisans mezunuyum. Yeni hedef doktora…
[Finally, I had the reward for my efforts. I am an M.S Graduate now. The next challenge is Ph.D... ]

İyi doğdun Erkan- Happy birthday Erkan

Bugün kardeşim Erkan’ın doğum günüydü. Kendi çapımızda kutladık. Tekrardan iyi ki doğdun Erkan. [Today, it was my brother Erkan's birthday. We have celebrated as much as we can. Happy birthday Erkan.]

Oslo suyunda Parazit :( -Parasite in Oslo tap water

Norveç’te Türkiyedeki gibi su sıkıntısı pek yok. Metrekare başına en çok göl düşen bir ülke Norveç. Oslo’nun suyu da gayet lezzetli olduğundan hazır su almak gerekmiyordu. Hatta o sular lezzetsiz geliyor bana. Ama bugün itibari ile Oslo suyunda bir parazit tespit edilmiş. 2 bayan hastaneye kaldırılmış. En az 3-4 dakika kaynatmadan diş bile fırçalamayın deniyor.

[We don't have inadequate water problem in Oslo different than Turkey. Norway has the most water per metersqaure. Since The water tastes good, we used to drink from tap water. Today we have learnt that there was a parasite in tap water. They suggest not even brushing teeths without boiling the water for at least 3-4 minutes ]

The Giardia paraziti.

Kaynak: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2052645.ece

Oslo’da ilk bayramım – My first bairam in Oslo

Sabahtan aileler arandıktan sonra Yeliz işe gideceği için burada bayramı hissedebilmek zor olacaktı. Biz de bayram tatlısı yapalım dedik. Baklava da açabilirdik ama biz şekerpare tercih ettik. [Since Yeliz had to go to work after calling our parents, it would be hard to feel the bairam here. So we decided to preapre the desert for the bairam. Baklava would be nice , but we prefered şekerpare (small cakes with syrup).]