Professor Awarded Highest Honor in Mathematics; Secrets Event a Success

Mathematics Professor Wins Prestigious Award

On Wednesday, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters announced its decision to award Stony Brook's Dr. John Milnor the $1 million Abel Prize, which the organization said "recognizes contributions of extraordinary depth and influence to the mathematical sciences."

Milnor won for his groundbreaking work in topology, geometry and algebra.

Milnor is a Professor of Mathematics at Stony Brook and co-director of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences there. He said in an email that he feels "very gratified" about being honored. 

"It is naturally a great pleasure to receive such recognition," he said. 

Although the Abel Prize is the highest prize in the field of mathematics, Milnor has won the other three highest awards as well. He was awarded three Steele Prizes, one for Lifetime Achievement, the Wolf Prize in Mathematics, and the Fields Medal.

"There is a particular pleasure when one finds a way of dealing with a problem which seemed very difficult," he said. "If recognition comes later, so much the better."

Milnor will be awarded the prize in a ceremony in Oslo, Norway on May 24. 

Secrets Come to Stony Brook

Secrets aren't safe at Stony Brook anymore.

Last week, students enjoyed an exhibit called "Stony Brook Secrets." A takeoff of the popular website PostSecret.com, students anonymously wrote secrets on a postcard and handed them in at spots around campus. The postcard secrets were then showcased on the walls and hanging from the ceiling in a room in the Tabler Arts Center for anyone to see.

"I've been following PostSecret for quite some time myself, and when I was a [Resident Assistant] last year, I wanted to do something different because you see a lot of the same programs going on around campus," said Ed Arzomand, the junior who organized the event. "So I said let me try to do PostSecret on campus and see how that works." 

A variety of secrets were displayed, ranging from love life to family issues to insecurity to secret obsessions (i.e. Twilight and Justin Bieber). Written in many different handwritings and on different brightly colored and sometimes decorated postcards, there was a lot to take in.

"It was interesting," said Chelsea Moccio, a freshman who attended the event. "Some were funny, but others were really sad."

Nearly all of the submissions were displayed, with only about five of the 400 rejected. Arzomand says he worked with the Center for Prevention and Outreach to make sure none of the secrets promoted anything unhealthy, and CPO members were present for anyone who wanted to talk.

Last year the event was done on a smaller scale, but it gained popularity, and next year Arzomand says it will be even bigger. 

"I think we've hit almost 500 vistiors and about 490 of them have told me to do it again either semesterly or annually," he said. "It'll probably happen again next year." 

Cooking Competition Coming to Campus

Students have until April 1 to sign up for Stony Brook's Iron Chef Competition, which will pit teams of three against each other to compete for a $5,000 charity donation.

Once teams have signed up, fellow students will vote for their favorites and choose four teams to work with a Campus Dining Services chef on the day of the competition, set for April 13.

The teams will receive an ingredient list one hour prior to the competition and will have one hour to complete their dishes, which will be judged by a panel of judges from Campus Dining Services along with one student and one faculty member.

For more information, including rules and eligible charities, check out the Campus Dining website.