Applied Mathematician L. Mahadevan Named a 2009 MacArthur Fellow

September 30, 2009

Mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan—"Maha" to those who know him—has been named one of the twenty-five 2009 MacArthur Fellows. His work centers on using mathematics to understand the behavior of living and nonliving matter, particularly at the scale of the everyday world.

The Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Mahadevan will receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.

"Bravo to Maha! We are thrilled to have among us a researcher who has the relentless desire to explore in-depth every nook and cranny of the world," said Cherry A. Murray, dean of Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "With a mix of beautiful  mathematics and elegant theory and through collaboration with colleagues in all fields (including doing some of his own experiments), he shows how much we can learn from being careful observers, whether it is figuring out how a flag flutters, a map folds, or honey coils," Murray said. "Maha demonstrates time and again that we can find true wonder by looking no farther than our own doorsteps."

Maha received the George Ledlie Prize at Harvard (2006) and was presented with an Ig Nobel Prize for the study of wrinkle patterns on sheets in 2007. Upon receiving that award, he said, "There's no reason good science can't be fun."

Source: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Sept. 22, 2009.