Abel Prize Goes to Chaos-theory Pioneer Yakov Sinai

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded mathematical physicist Yakov Sinai (Princeton University) the 2014 Abel Prize for, according to the citation, his “fundamental contributions to dynamical systems, ergodic theory, and mathematical physics.”

Sinai is best known for work in complex dynamical systems, but when Jordan Ellenberg (University of Wisconsin—Madison) presented the Abel Prize he highlighted Sinai's ability to find similarities in physical systems that look quite different at a superficial level.

Read Nature's coverage.