The jury, consisting of representatives of the Polish Mathematical Society and Ericpol, the founder of the prize, nominated the following candidates for the prize:

• Natalia Bezvitnaya – Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic
• Jonas Jankauskas – Vilnius University, Lithuania
• Sławomir Kolasiński – University of Warsaw
• Joanna Kułaga-Przymus – Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun
• Marcin Pilipczuk – University of Warsaw

23 doctoral dissertations from Central and Eastern Europe were entered in the competition. This has been the greatest number of entries in the competition so far. ‘The scope of the entered works was very wide and included classical mathematical disciplines as well as modern issues of theoretical computer science, where mathematical thinking and language play a crucial role,’ said professor Stefan Jackowski, the President of the Polish Mathematical Society. This has been the first time when a dissertation in theoretical computer science won the prize.

This year’s winner, Marcin Pilipczuk, focused in his dissertation on tasks where standard computational techniques fail and where any progress requires a deep mathematical insight. Therefore, stating the reasons for its decision, the jury emphasized that the dissertation was ground-breaking. Marcin Pilipczuk constructs the fastest known algorithms for important computational problems; the results of his research break barriers which have been challenged by many eminent scientists before. His record achievement is the reduction of computational complexity to below 2n in the solution of an important graph problem which is an abstract mathematical model of a real task, i.e. an optimal distribution of manufacturing facilities in a communications network or servers in the Internet.

‘I am glad that this year’s winner is a dissertation focusing on issues with practical applications. It is thanks to the efforts of people such as Pilipczuk that we follow the progress of civilization ‘ emphasized Jan Smela, the President of Ericpol.

The International Banach Prize, which is worth PLN 20,000, is a joint initiative of Ericpol and the Polish Mathematical Society. It is aimed at the promotion and financial support of the most promising young scientists who hold a PhD in mathematical sciences. The award-presentation ceremony will take place on 17 September 2013 during the inauguration of the 5th Forum of Polish Mathematicians in Rzeszow. The event is held under the honorary patronage of prof. Barbara Kudrycka, Minister of Science and Higher Education.

Ericpol Sp. z o.o. is an engineering company which has been operating in the international ICT market for over 20 years. It offers outsourcing and consultancy services and provides dedicated solutions in the area of telecommunications, M2M (machine to machine) communication, and UX (user experience) as well as applications for the medical, financial, and banking sectors and solutions for business. Ericpol has 3 offices in Poland and 3 subsidiaries in Belarus, Ukraine, and Sweden, which together form the Ericpol Group and employ over 1,700 workers.

Year after year, the competition has enjoyed increasing popularity – the number of dissertations submitted this year has been the largest in the history of the Banach Prize, which was first awarded in 2008. As in previous years, most entries in 2013 were submitted from Poland; other participants are representing Ukraine, Hungary, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

‘We are glad to see that the competition has now become one of the most significant mathematical events in the region, and the number of participants continues to increase every year,’ says Krystyna Jaworska, Secretary of the Polish Mathematical Society.

The laureate of the competition will be selected by a jury, comprising of, among others, the winner of last year’s Banach Prize, Dr Andras Mathe from the University of Warwick (UK) and Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest (Hungary). The jury will select this year’s winner no later than on 31st May 2013, and the award ceremony will take place on 16-20th September 2013 in Rzeszów, during the 5th Polish Mathematicians Forum.

The International Stefan Banach Prize was founded in 2008 as a joint project of the ICT company Ericpol Telecom and the Polish Mathematical Society. The financial value of the prize is PLN 20 thousand. We would like to express our gratitude and wish the best of luck to all of the participants of this year’s competition.

This is the fifth edition of the competition. ‘From the very beginning, we have ensured high standards and now we can certainly say that this prize has become a firmly established feature in the landscape of Polish mathematics,’ says Prof. Stefan Jackowski, the President of the Polish Mathematical Society. ‘The prize has been recognized in Poland as well as abroad. This is very important to us,’ adds Prof. Jackowski.

‘Newspapers say that there are definitely more graduates of technical universities than economists among the presidents of companies. Scientific and technical minds prove to be better in times of crises and not only then. We owe this disciplined method of thinking to mathematics, without which there would be no physics and engineering sciences. That is why we support this scientific discipline, which makes it possible to define and verify the most abstract phenomena in detail,’ says Jan Smela, the President of Ericpol.

The award ceremony for the International Banach Prize in 2012 coincided with the Sixth European Congress of Mathematics, which, for the first time, was held in Poland and brought together the most distinguished representatives of the world of mathematics from Europe, the United States, and other countries. 14 doctoral theses from Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Norway and Hungary qualified for the fourth edition of the competition. The main prize was awarded to Dr Andras Mathe, a Hungarian mathematician from the University of Warwick (Great Britain). The prize-winning thesis was titled “The isomorphism problem of Hausdorff measures and Hoelder restrictions for functions”. In the earlier editions of the competition, the prize-winners included Polish mathematicians, Dr Łukasz Pańkowski from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and Dr Jakub Gismatullin and Dr Tomasz Elsner from the University of Wrocław.

Candidates for the prize include authors of doctoral theses in mathematical sciences on which basis PhD degrees were awarded in 2010-2012 in institutions located in countries involved in the competition. Applications have to be submitted to the Polish Mathematical Society by 31 January 2013. The Jury will announce the name of the prize-winner and the nominees by 31 May 2013. The ceremony for awarding the prize will take place during the Forum of Polish Mathematicians in June 2013.

Ericpol Sp. z o.o. is an engineering company that has been operating in the international ICT market for 20 years. It provides outsourcing and consultancy services. It also delivers dedicated solutions in the area of telecommunications, M2M (machine to machine) communication, UX (user experience), applications for the medical sector, finances, and banking as well as solutions for business. It has 3 offices in Poland and 3 manufacturing facilities in Belarus, Ukraine and Sweden, which together form the Ericpol Group and employ the total of over 1,700 people.

More information:

• Application form
• Prize rules

Jan Smela Chairman of Ericpol, founder of the Prize and the sponsor of the Congress handed in the diploma and an award worth 5000 EUR to the laureate. One can never know where mathematics will appear and what it will change. Sometimes we have to wait for many years, even centuries, until it unexpectedly revolutionises the world. We have come together in Kraków, so I have to refer to the work of a logical genius who lived in our city for some time. If Ludwik Wittgenstein had not learnt mathematics, the famous Proposition 5.101 of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus would have never existed. Proposition 5.101 is a demonstration of the transformation of conditional clauses like ‘If C, then A”into”TFTT’. 5.101 became the basis of contemporary information technology and I, like the employees and clients of our company, and the remaining 7 billion people around the world, are all beneficiaries of mathematicians’ work’, emphasized Jan Smela.

The award-winning dissertation entitled ‘The isomorphism problem of Hausdorff measures and Hoelder restrictions of functions’ was written under the supervision of Professor Miklós Laczkovich of the Institute of Mathematics at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. In his thesis Mathe solved an open problem in geometric measure theory about a fundamental property of Hausdorff measures, showing that these measures of various dimensions are essentially different.

This year’s competition drew entries from contestants from 12 different countries Eastern and Central Europe and Scandinavia. 14 doctoral dissertations from Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Norway and Hungary were submitted. Apart from the main prize, the Jury awarded four distinctions to the following scholars:

1. Matti Vihola, PhD, Jyvaskla University, Finland, for the work entitled ‘On the convergence of unconstrained adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms’
2. Simone Cifani, PhD, University of Science and Technology, Norway, for the work entitled ‘On nonlinear fractional convection-diffusion equations’
3. Karol Palka, PhD, Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, for the work entitled ‘Singular Q-homology planes’
4. Laszlo Vegh, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA / Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, for the work entitled ‘Connectivity augmentation algorithms’

The International Stefan Banach Prize for outstanding doctoral dissertations in mathematical sciences has been awarded since 2009 by a jury composed of mathematicians from the Polish Mathematical Society, a laureate from the previous edition and a representative from Ericpol, the sponsor of the prize. The prize was established in 2008 by Ericpol and the Polish Mathematical Society as a token of recognition for mathematics and the role it plays in the modern world. The purpose of this initiative is also to popularize the achievements of Stefan Banach and Polish science in general. The prize amounts to PLN 20 thousand, and is one of the largest financial awards granted in the field of mathematics in Poland.

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The Sixth European Congress of Mathematics – 6ECM – which is being held in Poland for the first time, will bring together the most prominent representatives of the mathematical circles from Europe, the USA and other countries. 10 plenary lectures, 36 special lectures and 20 mini-symposia on the issues that contemporary mathematics is facing, will be presented by Bernhard Keller, Frank Merle, Florian Popp, Isabelle Gallagher and other scholars. The opening lecture on the mathematical model of sea waves will be presented by Adrian Constantin, a mathematician of Romanian descent, working in Vienna and London. The closing lecture on seeking a mathematical language to describe biological phenomena will be presented by the mathematical Nobel laureate, Misha Gromov from Paris.

The mathematical congress in Krakow is supported by Ericpol, the founder of the International Banach Prize, which will be awarded during the Congress for the fourth time.

‘Meeting people, sharing ideas and open discussion are very important in „practicing” mathematics. It should be reminded that a number of ideas developed by Stefan Banach, a brilliant Polish mathematician, and his friends and students, originated during such informal meetings in the Scottish Cafe in Lvov. This is a beautiful tradition and it is worth cultivating’, says Stefan Jackowski, Chairman of the Polish Mathematical Society, co-founder of the International Banach Prize and the organiser of this year’s Congress.

Stefan Banach was born 120 years ago. To commemorate the occasion, the National Bank of Poland has issued a special coin with the scientist’s likeness and mathematical formulae taken from his works. The coin will be presented during the opening ceremony by a Member of the Management Board of the National Bank of Poland, Prof. Eugeniusz Gatnar.

‘Mathematics is an extraordinary science. One never knows when and how it can influence one’s life. Had Wittgenstein not dealt with mathematics, the famous Proposition 5.101, which became the foundation of modern computer science, might not have been developed. If it was not for mathematics, we might still be dwelling in caves. Therefore, we support mathematics with all our hearts’, says Jan Smela, Chairman of Ericpol, founder of the Prize and the sponsor of the Congress.

On Thursday, 5 July, the Banach Prize and other prizes of the Polish Mathematical Society will be awarded. The ceremony will be preceded by a lecture to commemorate the life of the late Andrzej Pelczar, Professor of the Jagiellonian University.

• 5 July, Auditorium Maximum UJ, ul. Krupnicza 33:

12.00 – the lecture commemorating Andrzej Pelczar
13.00 –13.30 the prize giving ceremony – those founded by the Polish Mathematical Society and the International Banach Prize
13.30 – 14.00 press conference
14.00 – 15.00 refreshments
More information: 6ecm.pl

In 2008, Ericpol and the Polish Mathematical Society founded the International Banach Prize, awarded in recognition of an outstanding doctoral thesis in mathematical sciences. Apart from the prizes awarded by the European Mathematical Society, it is the only prize for young mathematicians. Its value amounts to 20,000 PLN (approx. 5000 EUR).

Ericpol – a company with offices in Lodz and Krakow – is the biggest exporter in the Polish IT sector. For 21 years it has provided services in outsourcing, consultancy, dedicated solutions in telecommunications, M2M (machine-to-machine) communication, UX (user experience), medical services, banking and solutions for business. Ericpol was included in a list of the 500 biggest providers of software and telecommunications services and – as the only company from Poland – in a list of the 100 best providers of outsourcing and consultancy services in the world.
It has about 1500 employers in Poland and its foreign subsidiaries.
More information: ericpol.com

The Polish Mathematical Society was established in Krakow in 1919, with Stefan Banach being one of the founders; he was Chairman of the Society during the period 1939-45. The goal of the Society is the ‘comprehensive cultivation of pure and applied mathematics by holding scientific meetings with lectures’, which it is pursuing by organising contests, olympiads, conferences and various publications.
More information: ptm.org.pl

Professor Stefan Banach (1892-1945), born in Krakow, professor of the John Casimir University in Lvov; he developed functional analysis, which is a wide and important area of mathematics. Known for his unconventional methods of practicing mathematics in the Scottish Cafe in Lvov, he became one of the most famous mathematicians in the world.

The official award presentation will take place on July 5th, 2012, during the special session of the 6th European Congress of Mathematics, which this year will be hosted by the Polish city of Krakow for the first time in its history.

“The International Stefan Banach Prize is on a par with the awards granted by the European Mathematical Society. As far as I know, it is the only international prize, apart from the EMS awards, which is granted to young mathematicians. I hope that this year’s laureate of the prize, as well as the other nominees, will soon be nominated for the EMS awards as well, followed by the Fields Medal, the Nobel Prize in mathematics” says professor Stefan Jackowski, President of the Polish Mathematical Society.

“We are the first Polish company to support the works of mathematicians at the stage of initial research. People sometimes find it a strange thing to do, but for us it gives us a great reason to be proud, as it allows us to become play a role in the development and promotion of science. And we see science as the driving force of our civilization,” states Marek Gajowniczek, Programmes Director at Ericpol.

This year’s competition drew entries from contestants from 12 different countries and a total of 90 mathematical institutions from Eastern and Central Europe and Scandinavia. 14 doctoral dissertations from Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Norway and Hungary were submitted. Apart from the main prize, the Jury awarded four distinctions to the following scholars:
Matti Vihola, PhD, Jyvaskla University, Finland, for the work entitled “On the convergence of unconstrained adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms”
Simone Cifani, PhD, University of Science and Technology, Norway, for the work entitled “On nonlinear fractional convection-diffusion equations”
Karol Palka, PhD, Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, for the work entitled “Singular Q-homology planes”
Laszlo Vegh, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA / Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, for the work entitled “Connectivity augmentation algorithms.”

The International Stefan Banach Prize for outstanding doctoral dissertations in mathematical sciences has been awarded since 2009 by a jury composed of mathematicians from the Polish Mathematical Society, a laureate from the previous edition and a representative from Ericpol, the sponsor of the prize. The prize was established in 2008 by Ericpol and the Polish Mathematical Society as a token of recognition for mathematics and the role it plays in the modern world. The purpose of this initiative is also to popularize the achievements of Stefan Banach and Polish science in general. The prize amounts to PLN 20 thousand, and is one of the largest financial awards granted in the field of mathematics in Poland.

Elon Lindenstrauss was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal for his far-reaching advances in ergodic theory concerning the measure rigidity of higher rank diagonal actions in homogeneous spaces and its application in the analytical numbers theory. The Fields Medal has been awarded every four years since 1936 by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) during the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), and is viewed as the greatest honor which can be bestowed upon mathematicians under forty years old. The Medal is sometimes referred to as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize, which – as is commonly known – is not granted for achievements in mathematics.

Elon Lindenstrauss was one of the key plenary speakers at the 2011 Israeli-Polish Mathematical Congress which took place in Łódź, Poland, on September 11-15th 2011. Below you will find a transcript from the interview with Professor Lindenstrauss conducted by Aleksandra Cholewińska, a representative of Ericpol. This interview is part of a wider conversation, in which Mariusz Lemańczyk and Krzysztof Pawałowski from the Polish Mathematical Society also took part. The complete interview with Elon Lindenstrauss will be published in the Wiadomości Matematyczne (Mathematical News) journal in spring 2012.

Aleksandra Cholewinska, Ericpol: I’d like to ask a few questions more about how to promote mathematics rather than about the specifics of your work. This year, the International Banach Prize was awarded for the third time and I’d like to start with its patron. 18-year old Banach thought that everything there was to be discovered in the mathematics, had already been discovered, so there is no point studying it. A few years later he changed his mind completely and set new directions for this field. What do you think, how much it is there left to discover, will we ever be able to say we know everything about mathematics?

Elon Lindenstrauss: Actually, I didn’t know this about Banach. The belief, that everything there is to be discovered in mathematics, had already been discovered is a common misconception, that somehow I have encountered many times among people, and, of course, it is completely false. There are no limits to what we can know, we can always push the frontier more and more, and furthermore, build on what has already been discovered. I have heard a story about a colleague interviewed by some news organization. He told the interviewer about Euclid’s proof, given about 2500 years ago, that there exist infinitely many prime numbers, and was asked by the interviewer if the result is still true today…

That is a nice thing about mathematics – it never becomes obsolete. A theorem remains a theorem. The fact, that it is always much more to know, is not so surprising. You could always ask more questions, and – what’s important – more interesting questions. Somehow, the most wonderful thing is, that we can still manage this growth of information. All the knowledge we have gained since Euclid (realistically, in the last couple of hundreds of years) we have built on mathematics, we can still manage and use this knowledge effectively. Right now, I think it is a very good time for mathematics, there are lots of interesting ideas, new connections between different fields. We also see, that some conjectures, open for hundreds of years, now suddenly become solved, like the Fermat and Poincare Conjecture.

A.C.: Last year, at the Polish Mathematical Meeting there was a thesis, that biology is currently at the same level of development as physics was in the 19th century. Thanks to mathematics, biology could become even more advanced than physics is today. You’ve worked at the famous Institute for Advanced Study, where also Jon von Neumann, a good friend of Banach worked. Given your experiences from Princeton, how do you judge the possible uses of mathematics in other sciences, other fields?

E.L.: Mathematics and physics were in a way twins for a long time. They share a hundred years of fruitful interaction. Biology and mathematics – it is a much newer interaction. I am not very knowledgeable about the extent to which mathematics can be used in the context of biology. I am sure, that people with mathematical training could pick a good approach to do a lot of things. Mathematical training is a very healthy training, it is a sort of ability how to think in a clear and rigorous way, and apply criticism to what you do. So, this can be useful anywhere, including biology. It is also true, that nowadays in biology we have, in a sense, many things that you could translate into sequences of digits. Eg. DNA translates into sequences of digits. One might think that, potentially, you could use mathematics to analyze these things, but I have never worked in this direction, so I can’t give you an honest answer.

A.C.: In Poland, a country with good mathematics traditions, for a period of time maths was not compulsory for matriculation exams. Do you think it should be a subject only for those, who choose it, or for everyone? How should we teach mathematics in order to encourage young people? Stefan Banach said once, that maths is a sharp instrument, not suitable for children.

E.L.: It is another new thing I never heard about Banach. Still, it is certainly true that for many things one does, a certain amount of mathematical literacy is essential. Whether one wants to be an engineer, a biologist, any other type of scientist, a banker, or someone else from the finance industry, or software industry, you definitely need some sort of mathematical literacy. Certainly, it would be a good thing if people learn mathematics. I think it’s also an unfortunate fact, that many students view mathematics as an unpleasant subject, which it, obviously, isn’t. Of course, what they are given is not mathematics but a repetitive routine tribute, which is not so much fun and perhaps not super useful in any kind of discipline.

A.C.: It’s more about the way of teaching than the maths itself?

E.L.: I must say something that is trivial. Teachers should try to teach mathematics in an interesting way. It should be a part of what a student, who graduates from high school, should be expected to know. A little bit of mathematical literacy, as well as, some general literacy about the culture, about the government of the country, history, and other things that every knowledgeable citizen should feel comfortable with. Mathematics should be part of that , but not exclusively. I think it is right to say, that it is just one of the things people should learn.

A.C.: The mathematicians of Lwów used to meet in cafeteria, drink cognac and coffee, smoke cigarettes, pose questions and then write down solutions on tabletops, and later in the Scottish Book. Those meetings would last several hours, and as a form of teamwork would bring interesting, sometimes surprising results. What does a mathematician need in his work today and how does that work look like?

E.L.: Well, it’s a nice way to work – meet with friends over a coffee, share ideas, talk about this and that, and try to learn from each other. That’s definitely something which is very important to me. I think it’s wonderful to sit in the office, to work without any disturbance from outside, to deal with one problem after another. At the same time, I do like to work with other people, to share my ideas, to learn their point of view. To be an effective mathematician, you need time free of outside hassles, so that you can concentrate on what you do… I find, that I like to have, and I am fortunate to have, people that I enjoy talking to and trust. Likewise, they trust me and we share ideas. Basically, you don’t need much more than that – we don’t need laboratories, we don’t need anything very fancy, we need our books, we need our journals, we need…

A.C.:…a computer?

E.L.: The computer is an interesting and very powerful tool. Of course, one thing is that we use computers, like everybody else nowadays, to document what we do. We use them for email, to communicate, to access information. It is also true that sometimes one could use a computer as a research tool, just to check that something which should be true, really is. It’s even a useful tool in proofs that maybe would be very tedious or impossible to do, but are very simple to perform with use of a computer. So yes, it is an important tool but not indispensible, for some kinds of mathematical activity.

A.C.: Mathematicians are considered as one of the best jobs in the world. Is it a pleasure being a mathematician, or is it painful to always have to find a path into the unknown?

E.L.: It could be a very frustrating job. We work all the time. The moments, when we actually gain insight into something, when we suddenly understand something, that nobody understood before us, when we get these new ideas, that you can apply – these moments are very, very rare. In fact, most of the time you get very frustrated. So, it is quite a hard occupation. One of the ways to mitigate this, is that most of us teach. I believe teaching is a nice activity – it is not one where you have only a rare insight, but instead you work in a predetermined way. You get into a routine, some kind of continuous feedback from teaching. Of course, there are many good things about being a mathematician. You are really able to freely share ideas with many very smart people, it’s a beautiful thing, and I cherish being a mathematician.

A.C.: What are your goals in mathematics?

E.L.: There are some things that I really want to understand, some circles of conjectures that I would like to understand better. There are also many interesting results out there that I just would like to know.

A.C.: Mathematics is a tool for engineers. The Vice-President of Ericpol, Mr Marek Gajowniczek said, when awarding the Banach prize, that every good engineer must admire mathematics.

E.L.: Engineers use mathematics, and I think it’s extremely important that they understand the mathematics that they use. It’s very important, that when an engineer uses a formula, or an estimate, he needs to understand the meaning of it, and when it is valid. I think, one of the differences between a good engineer and a not-so-good engineer, is his ability to not just use mathematics, but to understand what he uses and why.

A.C.: What do mathematicians admire in the modern world? What do you admire?

E.L.: I am very curious about many things. I’d like to know how computers work, I’d like to know how things work in general. There are many interesting things that are happening in the world, changes taking place in societies. Knowledge is much more accessible than it was not so long ago. Definitely, this is something truly incredible!

A.C.: Prof Alex. Lubotzky says that mathematics is a most beautiful, exciting and challenging task, and when you’ve finished solving a problem it simply makes you happy. What would you wish to young mathematicians, who are just getting to know the subject in school, but will perhaps follow your footsteps in the future?

E.L.: The important thing for young mathematicians is to try to find some directions that they can be passionate about. If you aren’t passionate about a problem you can’t really work on it. You can’t focus yourself if you don’t have something you are passionate about. The best thing for people, let’s say for graduate students, is to find directions which really excite the imagination. I think it’s very important!

Works for the fourth edition can be submitted until 31 January 2012.

For the Prize can be submitted a doctoral dissertation, based on which a given author was granted a degree at a university located in one of the countries covered by the competition during the year of competition announcement and two years preceding the competition.
Only doctoral dissertations originally written in Polish or English, or such whose results were published or approved for publication in English, can be submitted for the Prize.

For more information about the competition:
• Contact form
• Prize Rules

The jury will announce the winner by the end of May 2012, and the award ceremony will take place in Krakow, on the 2nd-7th of July, 2012, during the 6th European Congress of Mathematics.

BanachPrize was founded in 2008 by the Polish Mathematical Association and Ericpol Telecom, a Polish IT company.

For the third edition 14 dissertations were submitted: 9 from Poland and the rest from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Norway, Sweden and Ukraine. The submitted papers represented a number of branches of mathematics, such as the theory of numbers, functional analysis, the set theory, differential equations, the complex analysis, or differential geometry. The winner was doctor Łukasz Pańkowski of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. The awarded dissertation, Joint universality theorems vs. Kronecker’s diophantine approximation theorem, was written under the supervision of Professor Jerzy Kaczorowski, PhD.
The Jury also nominated four others for the Prize: Mr Łukasz Kosiński (Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science), Ms Olena Naboka (National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnical Institute”, Department of Higher Mathematics), Mr Tomasz Piasecki (Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Mathematics) and Mr Marcin Sabok (University of Wrocław, Institute of Mathematics).

The prize-giving ceremony of the fourth edition will coincide with the European Congress of Mathematics, which will be held in Kraków, on July 2-7, 2012.
The programme of the Congress maintains between lectures giving a broad overview of active mathematical disciplines and more specialized talks on recent results. During the Congress several prestigious prizes established by the EMS will be awarded. The Congress will also include round table discussions, poster sessions, and a cultural and social programme.

To see more, visit: http://www.6ecm.pl/

This is an open invitation to all those who are interested in making a difference!

Doctor Łukasz Pańkowski was awarded for his dissertation entitled ‘Joint universality theorems vs. Kronecker’s diophantine approximation theorem’, which was written under the supervision of professor Jerzy Kaczorowski, PhD.
‘The dissertation concerns analytical properties of so-called Riemann zeta function, which are directly connected with natural numbers’ arithmetical character, particularly with prime numbers’, said doctor Pańkowski. ‘I’d like to say that I’m greatly honoured with the Prize named after Stefan Banach – one of the greatest mathematicians ever’.

The International Banach Prize was established by Ericpol, the benefactor of the prize, and the Polish Mathematical Society. It reflects the appreciation for mathematics and the role it plays in the contemporary world, but it also is aimed at popularizing the scientific output of Stefan Banach and the Polish science in the world.

‘We would like Poland to be the technical development centre. We have to start form the very beginning to make it happen. The mathematics is the very beginning of all engineering sciences, therefore we strive to convince the society, that the mathematics is crucial for our future development’ explained Marek Gajowniczek, Vice President of Ericpol.

The IV season of the International Banach Prize competition is coming soon. The doctoral dissertations can be submitted till the end of January, 2012. The final of IV season will be held on the 2nd-7th of July, 2012 in Krakow, during the 6th European Congress of Mathematics.

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