The European Geosciences Union honours Kurths as an “exceptional scientist” for his development of "important new methods in nonlinear time series analysis". Kurths’ ideas and methods “have opened new branches of theoretical research, and have triggered key applications in the Earth sciences and sustainability,” the EGU states. His studies of complex networks, recurrence and synchronization "have helped elucidate the relationships between major climate processes", such as the Indian monsoon and El Niño activities, or between abrupt changes of the climate in the last five million years and the development of hominids.
Kurths earned particular acknowledgement for his “large network of scientific collaborators” and the “noteworthy contributions to nonlinear dynamics and the geosciences” of his PhD students and postdocs. “Their personal and professional development and their subsequent success have much to do with Kurths’ positive, supportive, generous and nurturing personality,” the EGU states.
“I feel very honoured and I am deeply touched to receive this remarkable award, which I share with outstanding scientists like Benoît Mandelbrot,” Kurths says. Mandelbrot was one of the leading mathematicians of our century and is widely known for his work on fractals. “This distinction strengthens and encourages me to continue exploring our new pathways with great determination, and to keep on working on one of the great challenges of our time: to research the impacts of climate change on our lives by using complex systems science.”
The European Geosciences Union awards the Lewis Fry Richardson Medal since 1998. The award is named after the British meteorologist and peace researcher Lewis Fry Richardson who pioneered numeric methods of weather forecasting and first models of disarmament.
Weblink to the EGU: http://www.egu.eu/awards-medals/lewis-fry-richardson/
Weblink to more information on Jürgen Kurths: http://www.pik-potsdam.de/members/kurths?set_language=en
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