Media contact information

For all media inquiries (requests for interviews for newspapers, TV or Radio), please contact the ETH Zurich Media Relations Office by e-mail mediarelations@hk.ethz.ch or via phone: +41 44 632 41 41.

Further background information, photo material, a short film and video statements by Prof. Alessio Figalli (EN, FR, IT) and Prof. Lino Guzzella, former President of ETH Zurich, (DE, EN, IT) can be found at Fields Medal for Alessio Figalli

Invitations to events

Please address all invitations to events or requests for speeches or other public appearances to Alessio Figalli’s assistants Linda Scales.

Media Coverage

On August 1, 2018, Alessio Figalli was awarded the Fields medal for his contributions to the theory of optimal transport and its applications in partial differential equations, metric geometry and probability. This is where you find a selection of the previous international media coverage of this highly esteemed award.

2020 Fields Medal Symposium: Public Opening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au2IFRKe15Q

Alessio Figalli receives the Fields Medal at the ICM2018 Opening Ceremony (ICM2018 TV, English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWZM_gVVVFM

FIELDS MEDAL WINNER ALESSIO FIGALLI (A film made by Simons Foundation)
https://youtu.be/G0rrnx8SaDI

Fields medal for ETH Professor Alessio Figalli (Film made by vistory GmbH and ETH Zurich)
https://youtu.be/Dv495HNfSNk

ETH-News: Ein Abend im Zeichen der Fields-Medaille
https://ethz.ch/de/news-und-veranstaltungen/eth-news/news/2018/10/ein-abend-im-zeichen-der-fields-medaille.html

Laudation by the International Mathematical Union (IMU)
The work of Alessio Figalli In the IMU’s write-up Allyn Jackson presents a brief introduction to the concept of optimal transport, followed by descriptions of three problems that exemplify the range and virtuosity of Figalli’s work.
https://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/IMU/Prizes/Fields/2018/figalli-final.pdf

Quanta Magazine (United States)
A Traveler Who Finds Stability in the Natural World The mathematician Alessio Figalli is rarely in one place for very long. But his work has established the stability of everything from crystals to weather fronts by using concepts derived from Napoleonic fortifications.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-traveler-who-finds-stability-in-the-natural-world-20180801/

Swiss Radio and Television SRF, SRF News (Switzerland, German)
Luckily I'm not running out of work so quickly The work of Alessio Figalli, mathematics professor at ETH Zurich, benefits various areas of life - including weather forecasting.
https://www.srf.ch/kultur/wissen/eth-professor-alessio-figalli-die-arbeit-geht-mir-zum-glueck-so-schnell-nicht-aus

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Interview (Switzerland, German)
It's a very intellectual work, and in a way it's old-fashioned. Alessio Figalli spoke with the NZZ about his science, his path to mathematics and his life as a research traveller.
https://www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft/es-ist-eine-sehr-intellektuelle-arbeit-die-in-gewisser-weise-auch-altmodisch-ist-ld.1405322

20 minutes (Switzerland, French)
ETH Zurich Professor receives "Nobel Prize in Mathematics" "With the Fields Medal, Alessio Figalli is now fully recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians of his generation," says French Research Minister Frédérique Vidal, in this article. According to her, this award testifies "to the remarkable influence of the French and Italian mathematical sciences".
http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/suisse/story/Un-prof-de-l-EPFZ-re-oit-la-medaille-Fields-de-math-17190949

Le Temps (Switzerland, French)
Alessio Figalli, the new Caesar of mathematics "I always liked math. I thought it was fun and I was doing pretty well." These simple words are those of a man who became one of the greatest mathematical researchers in the world. Professor at ETH Zurich, Alessio Figalli received the Field Medal on August 1.
https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/alessio-figalli-nouveau-cesar-mathematiques

Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana, RSI News (Switzerland, Italian)
Award-winning ETH Professor Alessio Figalli, a Professor of Mathematics at ETH Zurich, was awarded a Fields medal. "I have come to know Alessio Figalli as an extremely creative mathematician and an open, communicative person", says ETH President Lino Guzzella in the article.
https://www.rsi.ch/news/vita-quotidiana/cultura-e-spettacoli/Premiato-professore-dellETH-10737701.html

ANSA.it (Italy)
Alessio Figalli: "in my equations are the secrets of the clouds" For Alessio Figalli Mathematics, clouds and soap bubbles are key to understand weather forecasts.
https://www.ansa.it/ricerca/ansait/search.shtml?start=0&tag=&any=Figalli&sezione=&periodo=&sort=data%3Adesc

IlFattoQuotidiano.it / Scienza (Italy)
Alessio Figalli: "I solved the equation to predict the movement of clouds" It was the 34-year-old Italian professor who solved one of the problems that began a long time ago, from the time of the foundation of Carthage and then of the Napoleonic era.
https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2018/08/01/alessio-figalli-cosi-ha-risolto-lequazione-per-prevedere-il-movimento-delle-nuvole/4532625/

Il Mattino, Interview (Italy)
Alessio Figalli, the mathematician with Napoli in his heart: "With the numbers I predict where the clouds go to". In the interview Alessio Figalli explains how he found his way to mathematics through his participation in the Mathematics Olympiad.
https://www.ilmattino.it/primopiano/scuola_e_universita/figalli_il_matematico_con_napoli_nel_cuore_con_i_numeri_prevedo_dove_vanno_le_nuvole-3891016.html

La Nazione (Italy)
Alessio Figalli: the super award-winning mathematician comes from the Normale di Pisa The article highlights the satisfaction of the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa where Alessio Figalli graduated.
https://www.lanazione.it/pisa/cronaca/alessio-figalli-scuola-normale-1.4068273

Huffington Post Italia, Il Blog (Italy)
Alessio Figalli is a problem solver of exceptional talent, awarded by the Lincei already in 2017 Alessio Figalli is an exceptionally talented problem solver. He combines all the fundamental skills to be successful in the world of mathematical research: speed and depth, great originality, "technical" skills, serendipity and ambition in the choice of his research topics.
https://www.huffingtonpost.it/cultura/2018/08/03/news/alessio_figalli_e_un_problem_solver_di_eccezionale_talento_premiato_dai_lincei_gia_nel_2017-10679683/

La Repubblica (Italy)
An Italian wins the Fields medal, the Nobel Prize in mathematics: it has not happened for 44 years. The 34 year-old Alessio Figalli was awarded the Fields Medal for his studies on optimal transport, free frontier and probabilities. Exclusively to Repubblica Alessio Figalli recounts: "I don't consider myself an escaping brain".
http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2018/08/01/news/un_italiano_vince_la_medaglia_fields_il_nobel_della_matematica_non_succedeva_da_44_anni-203122919/

Vanity Fair Italy, Interview (Italy)
Alessio Figalli: "To succeed you must follow your passions". "I will try to make this award a stimulus for the future and to try to do good to mathematics and mathematicians," says Alessio Figalli, "Surely my career has been much faster going abroad, but not for Italian demerit but for the fact that, having agreed to move, I had many more opportunities".
https://www.vanityfair.it/news/approfondimenti/2018/08/06/alessio-figalli-medaglia-fields-matematica-intervista

Le Point, Interview (France)
Alessio Figalli: "We are living in a golden moment for mathematics". Alessio Figalli was partly educated at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in France. Interviewed by Le Point, the mathematician presents his vision of the challenges his discipline will face in the coming years.
http://www.lepoint.fr/education/alessio-figalli-nous-vivons-un-moment-d-or-pour-les-mathematiques-01-08-2018-2240709_3584.php

Le Monde (France)
Mathematics: Four new Fields medals open new paths to knowledge The article states that all the 2018 Fields Medallists including Alessio Figalli have in common that they are building bridges between different areas of their discipline in the hope of opening new paths to knowledge.
https://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2018/08/01/mathematiques-quatre-nouvelles-medailles-fields-ouvrent-de-nouveaux-chemins-vers-la-connaissance_5338309_1650684.html

Sciences et Avenir / AFP, Interview (France)
Alessio Figalli, winner of the Fields Medal: "a huge recognition" "As a mathematician, my goal is to do high-level research, after that, if I can help young people and future generations, it's a bit of a duty for me," says Alessio Figalli in this interview.
https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/fondamental/mathematiques/alessio-figalli-laureat-de-la-medaille-fields-une-reconnaissance-enorme_126432

Futura Science (France)
Fields 2018 Medals: Alessio Figalli, student of Cédric Villani, among the winners According to this article Alessio Figalli is a master of analysis working on topics having implications in applied mathematics, from economics to meteorology and theoretical physics.
https://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/actualites/geometrie-medailles-fields-2018-alessio-figalli-eleve-cedric-villani-parmi-laureats-72265/

La Recherche (France)
2018 Fields medals: internationalisation and concentration "The characteristic that comes to my mind when I think of Alessio Figalli is his liveliness of mind," says Cédric Villani in this article. "He's a math problem solver."
http://www.larecherche.fr/math%C3%A9matiques-m%C3%A9daille-fields/m%C3%A9dailles-fields-2018-internationalisation-et-concentration

China Daily World (China)
Italian professor wins Fields Medal, world's highest honor for mathematics The report prominently quotes the International Mathematical Union (IMU): "More important than the sheer number of [Alessio Figalli’s] publications is their breadth and depth, which display a wide-ranging curiosity, brilliant insights, and supreme technical power."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201808/02/WS5b625ce6a31031a351e9198c.html

ETH - one year after the Fields Medal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IENwBPlX0kM