Malin Palö Forsström, researcher at Chalmers University of Technology, has been awarded the Wallenberg Prize 2024 for her pioneering work in probability theory. Malin shares the prize together with Cecilia Holmgren from Uppsala University and a prize sum of SEK 300,000.
The Wallenberg Prize, awarded by the Swedish Mathematical Society with the support of the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Memorial Foundation, is Sweden's most prestigious award for young mathematicians. The prize has been awarded annually since 1983 and aims to encourage and reward promising mathematical research.
Hello Malin, and congratulations on the Wallenberg Prize 2024! What does the prize mean to you?
“Of course it's great to receive the prize! Research is sometimes lonely, and it's nice to know that someone else thinks what I do is good.”
What is your research about?
“I study a discrete version of the Yang-Mills model that appears when describing the standard model in physics. The model is similar to other models that are also motivated by physics, such as percolation models and the Ising model (a model for understanding magnetism), but has slightly more complicated geometric properties.”
What has your math journey been like?
“I studied the mathematics program at the University of Gothenburg and did my PhD in mathematical statistics at Chalmers. After that, I worked as a postdoc for three years at KTH in Stockholm. Mathematical Sciences in Gothenburg has been a fantastic environment for me both as a student, a PhD student and as a researcher, and I am grateful to all those both here and at KTH who have helped me get to where I am today.”
The award committee justified the choice of Malin Palö Forsström with her “significant work in probability theory, in particular her influential contribution to the field of lattice gauge theory”. The award will be presented at the autumn meeting of the Swedish Mathematical Society in Umeå on November 22, 2024.
The award, together with the prize money of SEK 300,000, which will be divided equally between the two winners, will be presented at the Swedish Mathematical Society's autumn meeting in Umeå on Friday 22 November. The Wallenberg Prize has been awarded since 1983 by the Swedish Mathematical Society to particularly promising young Swedish PhD mathematicians. The Wallenberg Prize is the most prestigious award that a young Swedish mathematician can receive in the country. The stated intention of the prize has been to encourage mathematical research.
Svenska Matematikerförbundet
- Assistant Professor, Analysis and Probability Theory, Mathematical Sciences