SIAM Establishes the Nicholas J. Higham Prize for Research Impacting Scientific Software
SIAM is excited to announce the establishment of the Nicholas J. Higham Prize for Research Impacting Scientific Software. The prize is named in memory of Dr. Nicholas J. Higham, who passed away in 2024. The initial funds to support this prize were generously donated by MathWorks, maker of MATLAB and Simulink, and nAG, creators of the nAG Library. SIAM is incredibly grateful for these generous gifts and looks forward to recognizing and celebrating the important work of researchers in our community through this prize.
The prize of $2,000 will be awarded every two years to an individual or team whose fundamental and novel research contributions in applied and computational mathematics combine world-leading creativity and rigor in a manner that substantially impacts widely used scientific computing software. The inaugural Nicholas J. Higham Prize for Research Impacting Scientific Software will be awarded in 2027. SIAM will begin accepting nominations on May 1, 2026.
Nick Higham was a pivotal force in the numerical analysis community. His groundbreaking research, elegant writing, and widely used software reshaped the field and inspired generations of mathematicians. He was a prolific author, a trusted consultant, and an inspiring teacher and mentor. We are proud to support this prize, which honors Nick’s extraordinary legacy and the values he embodied: clarity, rigor, creativity, and generosity of spirit.
Penny Anderson, Director of Engineering, MathWorks
Dr. Higham was born on December 25, 1961, in Eccles, Manchester, U.K. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an honors degree in mathematics, a master’s degree in numerical analysis and computing, and a Ph.D. in numerical analysis. He went on to spend the entirety of his career at Manchester, rising to the rank of Richardson Professor of Applied Mathematics (named for mathematician and meteorologist Lewis Fry Richardson) in 1998. In 2018, he began his prestigious role as a Royal Society Research Professor, where he conducted groundbreaking work in numerical analysis. Dr. Higham had a tremendous impact on the SIAM community—he served as SIAM President, was an inaugural SIAM Fellow, published several books with SIAM (including SIAM’s bestselling book Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences, now in its third edition), received the George Pólya Prize for Mathematical Exposition, chaired the SIAM Activity Group on Linear Algebra, and held many other volunteer and leadership positions. He was a passionate and fervent proponent of creativity and communication as skills to be developed and harnessed for mathematical research and beyond. Read more about Dr. Higham’s life, career, and accomplishments.
Professor Nick Higham’s research, teaching, and collaborations profoundly advanced reliable numerical computation. His book, Accuracy and Stability of Numerical Algorithms, remains the defining text on error analysis and the design of trustworthy software. Through many partnerships, including with nAG, his methods are now used daily across quantitative finance and beyond. nAG is honoured to support this prize, celebrating the impact of Professor Higham’s work, contributions, and character.
Adrian Tate, CEO, n² Group and nAG
The Nicholas J. Higham Prize for Research Impacting Scientific Software recognizes Dr. Higham’s legacy in providing world-leading creativity, scholarship, and leadership in numerical analysis and scientific computing. In particular, Dr. Higham made numerous substantial contributions to the design and analysis of algorithms throughout his career, which have subsequently been incorporated into core scientific software packages used around the world. Thank you to MathWorks and nAG for making this prize possible!
Learn more about Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and how you can contribute.
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