Ruixiang Zhang Awarded 2023 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize in Mathematics

Mathematician Ruixiang Zhang, an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious 2023 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize. This award recognizes his remarkable contributions to the field of mathematics. The prize, which includes a cash award of $10,000, will be presented during an international conference in Number Theory, held in the hometown of the renowned mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, at SASTRA University in Kumbakonam during the third week of December.

Age Limit Honoring Ramanujan:

In keeping with the legacy of Srinivasa Ramanujan, whose groundbreaking work was accomplished during his tragically brief life of 32 years, the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize maintains an age limit of 32 years for its recipients. This age restriction pays tribute to the extraordinary achievements of Ramanujan.

Ruixiang Zhang’s Diverse Mathematical Contributions:

Ruixiang Zhang has made significant contributions across various mathematical domains:

1. Generalization of Vinogradov’s Mean Value Theorem:

• Building upon his doctoral research at Princeton University, Zhang collaborated with Shaoming Guo to establish a multivariable generalization of Vinogradov’s Mean Value Theorem.
• Their groundbreaking work, published in Inventiones Mathematicae in 2019, is recognized as a major achievement in the field of analytic number theory.

2. Breakthroughs in Restriction Theory:

• While working on his thesis, Zhang ventured into restriction theory within Fourier and classical harmonic analysis.

Zhang successfully resolved two long-standing problems:

• • Carleson’s problem regarding the pointwise convergence of solutions to the Schrödinger equation.
  • The two-dimensional case of Sogge’s local smoothing conjecture for wave equations.
• Collaborating with Xiumin Du in a 2019 Annals of Mathematics paper, they introduced novel techniques tailored to Carleson’s problem, providing solutions in all dimensions.

3. Impact in Harmonic Analysis:

• Ruixiang Zhang’s contributions extend to various areas, including harmonic analysis and its practical applications.

Academic Journey and Current Appointments:

• Dr. Zhang earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton University in 2017.
• Over the years, he has held positions at various academic institutions and is currently affiliated with the University of California since 2021.
• Dr. Zhang has been recognized with multiple awards, including a Sloan Fellowship (2022-24) and an NSF CAREER award (2022-27).

The Prize Committee:

The 2023 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize Committee comprised distinguished mathematicians:

• Krishnaswami Alladi (University of Florida) – Chair
• Don Blasius (University of California, Los Angeles)
• Sergei Konyagin (Lomonosov Moscow State University)
• Jonathan Pila (Oxford University)
• Bjorn Poonen (MIT)
• Zeev Rudnick (Tel Aviv University)
• Wadim Zudilin (Radboud University, The Netherlands)

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