Prize Specifications

Jürgen Moser (1928 - 1999) was one of the world's leading mathematicians who helped develop influential theories in celestial mechanics and dynamical systems theory (among others) and is renowned for his work on the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theory. He received his doctorate from Gottingen and went on to be a Professor at the Courant Institute, NYU (1955-1980) and at ETH-Zurich (1980-1995). Jürgen Moser received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 1995.

Principal Guideline

The SIAM Activity Group on Dynamical Systems (SIAG/DS) Moser Lecture, established in 2000, is awarded to a person who has made distinguished contributions to nonlinear science.

The term 'nonlinear science' is used in the spirit of the SIAG/DS meetings; specifically it includes dynamical systems theory and its applications as well as experiments and computations/simulations.

Prize Committee

Formation

The prize committee will consist of a panel of five members. All committee members, including the chair, are appointments. The SIAG Chair, in consultation with the other officers and the Advisory Board, will form a list of people to serve on the prize selection committee and will submit the list to the SIAM Vice President at Large (SIAM VP) for approval prior to inviting the committee members to serve. The SIAG officers will seek to ensure a diverse composition of the prize committee in research area, gender, geography, employment sector (industry, national laboratories, universities), and under-represented groups. The appointments will be made at least twelve months in advance of the prize award date.

Tenure

The term of office will be from the date of appointment until the date of the prize award.

Rules of Operation

The SIAG/DS officers and the SIAM office will solicit nominations for the prize from the general membership of the SIAG/DS and from other members of the scientific community, using SIAM office resources as needed. If a committee member is nominated for the award, the SIAG Chairperson will appoint a replacement upon notification by the committee chairperson and with the approval of the SIAM President.

The prize committee will follow the ‘best practices’ set out in the SIAM document for Selection Committees. The prize committee will follow the SIAM rules for conflict of interest as posted on the SIAM web site.

Selection Procedures

Recommendation of the Prize Committee

The prize committee will notify the SIAM VP of its selection at least eight months prior to the award date. The notification must be accompanied by a written justification and a citation not exceeding 25 words that can be used for a certificate and read at award time.

The SIAM VP will accept or reject the recommendation at least seven months prior to the award date.

If the recommendation is accepted, the award presentation will be made according to the procedure below. If the recommendation is not accepted, the SIAM VP and the Chairperson of the Prize Committee will select an acceptable individual at least six months prior to the award date.

The Selection Committee has the authority to choose to abstain from giving the award if there is no acceptable individual. If the award is not given for this reason, a new selection committee will be selected for the next award cycle.[1]  

Notification of Award

The Chairperson of the Prize Committee will notify the recipient of the award at least six months in advance of the award date. An invitation will also be extended to the recipient to attend the award ceremony to receive the award.

Description of Award

Type

The award will consist of a certificate containing the citation, a cash award, and an invitation to give a plenary lecture at the biennial meeting of the SIAM Activity Group on Dynamical Systems. A prize fund exists for the Moser Lecture; a percentage of the prize fund is allocated to provide a cash award. Reasonable travel expenses incurred by the lecturer in attending the conference will be reimbursed.

Award Date and Period

The prize is awarded every second year (starting in 2001) at the biennial SIAM Conference on Dynamical Systems.

Obligations of Recipient

The awardee is expected to attend the award ceremony and to present a plenary lecture at that meeting. As noted above, travel funds will be made available to reimburse the recipient for reasonable travel expenses incurred in attending the award ceremony.

Award Presentation

The Chairperson of the SIAG/DS will announce the award at the chosen meeting and present the award to the recipient. The recipient is expected to be present to receive the award.

An announcement of the award recipient will appear in the SIAM News and the SIAG/DS Newsletter.

^[1] An award decision will also be postponed to the next cycle if the number of nominations does not meet the required number to forward to the selection committee. See SIAM Prize Policy for more information.