Dan Petersen awarded the Göran Gustafsson Prize

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) has decided the researchers awarded this year's Göran Gustafsson Prize, the foremost national scientific prize for researchers who are no more than 45 years old. The five laureates in the categories of medicine, molecular biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics will receive SEK 8.1 million each, SEK 300,000 in a personal prize and SEK 7.8 million in grants for research over a period of three years.

Research on algebraic geometry and number theory

Dan Petersen, Professor of Mathematics at Stockholm University, is awarded the prize in mathematics "for in-depth contributions to algebraic geometry, algebraic topology and number theory".

Originally, Dan Petersen devoted himself to algebraic geometry. It is a classic subject in mathematics, where you study geometry through equation solving, or equation solving through geometry. A particular focus has been on so-called moduli spaces (a kind of mathematical map or space that organizes different geometric objects) of Riemann surfaces. A Riemann surface is a two-dimensional surface with special geometric properties. The concept of Riemann space was introduced in the 1800s. It plays an important role today in many fields of science, such as the number theory of mathematics and the string theory of physics. The moduli room describes how Riemann surfaces can be deformed.

Over the years, however, Dan Petersen's research has become increasingly broad, and his interests have shifted to include topology and number theory. With his co-authors Bergström, Diaconu, Westerland, Miller, Patzt, and Randal-Williams, he has solved a known open problem in analytic number theory of functional bodies using methods from topology and the study of moduli spaces.
Dan Petersen comments on receiving the award on KVA's website: "It means not only recognition, but also research funding to hire doctoral students and postdocs, and expand the research group at Stockholm University.”

Dan Petersen is a Wallenberg Scholar with a grant from the Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW).

Read the article "Collaboration the key to mathematical breakthroughs" on KVA's website
Read about all the laureates on KVA's website

The Göran Gustafsson Prize

Swedish universities and colleges nominate candidates for the Göran Gustafsson Prize to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The academy reviews the proposals and the laureates are then appointed by the Göran Gustafsson Foundation for Natural Science and Medical Research. The Göran Gustafsson Prize has existed since 1991. The foundation was established in 1989 after a donation from the entrepreneur and businessman Göran Gustafsson (1919–2003). The laureates must be at most 45 years old and intend to carry out most of their research in Sweden.