Volume 46 Issue 02 March 2013
Letters to the Editor

The 2012 Ig Nobel for Physics

Letters to the Editor
By

To the Editor:

I read with great pleasure the article on Joseph B. Keller and the 2012 Ig Nobel for physics (SIAM News, December 2012). Keller is a man known for his intellect, creativity, and professional integrity (and a personal academic hero of mine). Readers may want to know that the 2012 Ig Nobel prize for physics was shared with Raymond E. Goldstein, Patrick B. Warren, and Robin C. Ball for a delightful paper on the shape of ponytails (Physical Review Letters, 2012). The 1999 Ig Nobel for physics was shared with Len Fisher for calculating the optimal way to dunk a biscuit. While it is certainly true that Wilkins won the Nobel prize for the determination of the structure of DNA in 1962, readers will appreciate the fact that it was shared with Watson and Crick.

About the Author

Alain Goriely

Director, Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Alain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods, mechanics, sciences, and engineering. He is currently the director of the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Goriely is well known for his contributions to fundamental and applied solid mechanics, and for the development of a mathematical theory of biological growth.