Renowned Turkish mathematician Ali Nesin has been awarded the prestigious Leelavati Award by the International Mathematical Union for his outstanding efforts to attract Turkish people’s interests in mathematics and establish a “Mathematics Village”.
Ali Nesin is the recipient of the 2018 Leelavati Prize. He was given the award at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians held at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil during 1-9 August 2018. This is for his tireless work in creating the “Mathematics Village” in Sirince, western Turkey, as an exceptional, peaceful place for education, research and the exploration of mathematics for anyone. The citation for Ali Nesin’s award released by the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union reads, “For his outstanding contributions towards increasing public awareness of mathematics in Turkey, in particular for his tireless work in creating the “Mathematical Village” as an exceptional, peaceful place for education, research and the exploration of mathematics for anyone.”
The Leelavati Prize recognises outstanding contributions for increasing public awareness of mathematics as an intellectual discipline and the crucial role it plays in diverse human endeavours. The prize is sponsored by the multinational corporation, Infosys and carries a cash endowment of one million (ten lakh) Indian Rupees. It is named after the mathematical treatise “Lilavati” written by the renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer, Bhaskara II (also known as Bhaskaracharya) in 1150. Since 2010, it has been awarded to three persons.
Ali Nesin was born on 18 November 1957 in Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from the University of Paris VII and worked as lecturer at Berkeley Campus of the University of California at Yale from 1985 to 1986. He did PhD in 1985 from the University of Yale. He returned to Turkey in 1995. He has an Erdos number of three.
Ali Nesin is the son of the eminent Turkish writer and humourist, Aziz Nesin and story writer Meral Celen. From his father, Nesin inherited the Nesin Foundation. The Foundation provided shelter for needy children, enabling them to complete university education. After returning to Turkey in 1995, Ali took up a position at the Mathematics Department of Bilgi University in Istanbul. At this stage he noticed the shortcomings in the mathematics education prompting him to start summer courses for students entering the university.
In 2007, Nesin established the Mathematics Village (http://matematikkoyu.org/eng/), a mathematics summer school and a research centre that aims to spread knowledge and a love for mathematics as a science in Turkey. It does not follow the Turkish Ministry of Education curriculum or any other fixed syllabus and aims to teach math to everyone from primary school level to PhD! Around 15 paid staff and nearly 100 volunteers work there every year. Each year over 1000 students mill through the Mathematics Village with support from volunteer teachers around the globe.
We need the “Mathematics Villages” and similar efforts worldwide to encourage students to do mathematics, which plays a crucial role in sciences.
[Sameen Ahmed Khan teaches at Department of Mathematics and Sciences, College of Arts and Applied Sciences, Dhofar University, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman. [email protected]]