Frank Merle (mathematician)

Frank Merle
Born (1962-11-22) 22 November 1962
Marseille, France
CitizenshipFrench
Alma materÉcole normale supérieure
University of Paris VI
Scientific career
FieldsPartial differential equations, mathematical physics
WorkplacesUniversity of Cergy-Pontoise
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
Stanford University
Rutgers University
University of Chicago
Leiden University
University of Tokyo
Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques
Thesis Contributions a l'etude de certaines equations aux derivees partielles non lineaires de la physique mathematique (1987)

Frank Merle (born 22 November 1962) is a French mathematician, specializing in partial differential equations and mathematical physics.

Early life, education and career

Frank Merle was born on 22 November 1962 in Marseille. After graduation from the École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Merle received in 1987 his Ph.D. from the University of Paris VI under Henri Berestycki with thesis Contributions a l'etude de certaines equations aux derivees partielles non lineaires de la physique mathematique.[1][2] He became a researcher for CNRS at ENS. In 1989/90 he was an assistant professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU. Since 1991 Merle has been a professor at the University of Cergy-Pontoise. From 1998 to 2003 he was a member of the Institut Universitaire de France. In the fall of 1996, the fall of 2001, and the academic year 2003–2004 he was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study.[3] He was a visiting professor at Stanford University, Rutgers University, the University of Chicago, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) at Berkeley, Leiden University, and the University of Tokyo. Frank Merle holds the Analysis Chair at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in Bures-sur-Yvette [4].

Mathematical research

Merle does research on partial differential equations (PDEs) and mathematical physics, notably dispersive nonlinear PDEs such as the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and the Korteweg–De Vries equation, and the study of such PDE solutions which over time break down or diverge (blow up). Such research earned him in 2005 the Bôcher Prize which he earned again in 2023.

Merle received the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics[5] for significantly advancing the modern understanding of nonlinear evolution equations.

Personal life

Frank Merle is married to the artist Rebecca Dolinsky (born 26 May 1962) and has two sons, computer scientist Jascha Theophile Dolinsky Merle (born 23 May 2002) and Maxim Salomon Dolinsky Merle (born 13 June 2007).

Selected publications

  • Martel, Yvan; Merle, Frank (2002). "Stability of blow-up profile and lower bounds for blow-up rate for the critical generalized KdV equation". Annals of Mathematics. 155 (1): 235–280. arXiv:math/0405229. doi:10.2307/3062156. JSTOR 3062156. S2CID 14960075.
  • with Y. Martel: "Blow up in finite time and dynamics of blow up solutions for the L2-critical generalized KdV equation". J. Amer. Math. Soc. 15: 617–664. 2002. doi:10.1090/S0894-0347-02-00392-2. MR 1896235.
  • Merle, Frank; Raphael, Pierre (2004). "On universality of blow-up profile for L2 critical nonlinear Schroedinger equation". Inventiones Mathematicae. 156 (3): 565–672. Bibcode:2004InMat.156..565M. doi:10.1007/s00222-003-0346-z. S2CID 122944822.

Awards and honours

References

  1. ↑ Contributions a l'etude de certaines equations aux derivees partielles non lineaires de la physique mathematique par Frank Merle, theses.fr
  2. ↑ Frank Merle at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. ↑ Merle, Frank | Institute for Advanced Study
  4. ↑ Merle, Frank | IHES
  5. ↑ "Breakthrough Prize – Breakthrough Prize Announces 2026 Laureates". Breakthrough Prize. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  6. ↑ Merle, Frank (1998). "Blow-up phenomena for critical nonlinear Schrödinger and Sakharov equations". Doc. Math. (Bielefeld) Extra Vol. ICM Berlin, 1998, vol. III. pp. 57–66.
  7. ↑ "2005 Bôcher Memorial Prize" (PDF). Notices of the AMS. 52 (4): 443–444. April 2005.
  8. ↑ "2023 Bôcher Memorial Prize". American Mathematical Society. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Clay Research Award 2023
  10. ↑ "Breakthrough Prize". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
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