David Ruelle
Encyclopedia
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) is a Belgian-French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
mathematical physicist. He has worked on statistical physics
Statistical physics
Statistical physics is the branch of physics that uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approximations, in solving physical problems. It can describe a wide variety of fields with an inherently stochastic...
and dynamical systems. With Floris Takens
Floris Takens
Floris Takens was a Dutch mathematician known for contributions to the theory of chaotic dynamical systems.Together with David Ruelle he predicted that fluid turbulence could develop through a strange attractor, a term they coined, as opposed to the then-prevailing theory of accretion of modes....
he coined the term strange attractor, and founded a new theory of turbulence
Turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic and stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time...
. In 1986, he received the Boltzmann Medal
Boltzmann Medal
The Boltzmann Medal is the most important prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann...
for his outstanding contributions to statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...
, and in 1993 the Holweck Prize
Holweck Prize
The Holweck Prize is a major European prize for Physics awarded jointly every year by the British Institute of Physics and the Société Française de Physique . It is one of the four Grand Prix of the SFP and one of the four International Bilateral Awards of the IOP, consisting of a gold medal and a...
. In 2004, he received the Matteucci Medal
Matteucci Medal
The Matteucci Medal was established to award physicists for their fundamental contributions. Under an Italian Royal Decree dated July 10, 1870, the Italian Society of Sciences was authorized to receive a donation from Carlo Matteucci for the establishment of the Prize.Matteucci Medalists* 1868...
, and in 2006 the Henri Poincaré Prize.
He studied physics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
, obtaining a Ph.D. degree in 1959 (prepared at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
http://www.ihes.fr/~ruelle/CVAnglais.html).
He spent two years (1960–1962) at the ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, and another two years (1962–1964) at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
In 1964, he became Professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques
Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques
The Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques is a French institute supporting advanced research in mathematics and theoretical physics...
(IHES), in Bures-sur-Yvette
Bures-sur-Yvette
Bures-sur-Yvette is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Bures-sur-Yvette are known as Buressois.-Geography:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Since 2000, he is an Emeritus Professor at IHES and distinguished visiting professor at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Books
- (1969) Statistical Mechanics: Rigorous Results, World Scientific
- (1978) Thermodynamic formalism : the mathematical structures of classical equilibriumThermodynamic equilibriumIn thermodynamics, a thermodynamic system is said to be in thermodynamic equilibrium when it is in thermal equilibrium, mechanical equilibrium, radiative equilibrium, and chemical equilibrium. The word equilibrium means a state of balance...
statistical mechanicsStatistical mechanicsStatistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...
, Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-13504-3.; (1984) Cambridge: University Press ISBN 0-521-30225-0. 2e (2004) Cambridge: University Press ISBN 0-521-54649-4 - (1991) Chance and Chaos, Princeton University Press
- (2007) The Mathematician's Brain, Princeton University Press
See also
- Ruelle-Takens scenario
- Transfer operatorTransfer operatorIn mathematics, the transfer operator encodes information about an iterated map and is frequently used to study the behavior of dynamical systems, statistical mechanics, quantum chaos and fractals...
- Ruelle zeta-function
- Dobrushin-Lanford-Ruelle equations
- Sinai-Ruelle-Bowen measure
- Haag-Ruelle scattering theory