John Nash, right, a resident of West Windsor and a mathematician at Princeton University, was awarded the Abel Prize from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The $800,000 award is for his work on partial differential equations. He will share the award with Louis Nirenberg, 90, a retired professor from New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Science.
“A Beautiful Mind,” a 2001 film based on Nash’s life starred Russell Crowe. Born in West Virginia, Nash received the Nobel Prize for economics in 1994. He is married to Alicia Nash. Their son, John, is also a mathematician. Both Nash and his son have battled the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia during the adult lives.
“Their breakthroughs have developed into versatile and robust techniques, which have become essential tools for the study of nonlinear partial differential equations,” says the academy in a press release.
