News Release
____________________________________________________________
April 24, 2006
Boise State Math Professor Competes Thursday for $25,000
Prize in Young Scholar's Competition in Vienna, Austria
A Boise State University mathematics professor is among 10 finalists from
around the world who will compete for a $25,000 prize at an international
symposium in Vienna, Austria, later this week. The symposium celebrates the
100th anniversary of the birth of the famed Austrian mathematician Kurt
Gödel.
 |
|
Professor Justin
Moore |
Justin Moore, 31, will compete in the Young Scholar’s
Competition at the “Horizons of Truth Gödel Centenary 2006” in Vienna, to be
held Wednesday through Saturday. Moore was selected by a panel of
international judges after submitting his resumé and a brief summary of his
research proposal. Sixty-three applicants, all born in 1970 or later, vied
for the 10 finalist spots.
Moore received an all-expenses paid trip to Vienna for the event. “I think
the competition will be both a spectacle and a big celebration of Gödel and
his work,” he said.
Moore will have only about 10 minutes to talk about his research proposal
and how it relates to Gödel’s landmark contributions — a short amount of
time given the complexity of the subject matter. The winner, selected by a
panel of international judges, will receive the grand prize of 20,000 euros
— about $25,000 at current exchange rates. First and second runners up will
each receive 5,000 euros, or about $6,200.
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov will announce the Young Scholar’s
Competition winners on Friday, the 100th anniversary of Gödel’s birth, at a
gala dinner at Austria’s famous Belvedere Palace. In addition to the
contest, the symposium will include a variety of presentations from top
scholars from around the world. Austrian president Heinz Fischer will
officiate at the symposium’s opening celebration on Wednesday.
Gödel, a contemporary and friend of Albert Einstein, is famous for his
wide-ranging theories that continue to influence issues as diverse as
theology, philosophy, cosmology and artificial intelligence. One of his
best-known works, published when he was only 25, deals with the notion that
not all truths, even in mathematics, are provable.
“Mathematicians have had to come to grips with the idea if you try to write
down all the rules, there will always be something you can’t do based on the
rules,” explained Moore, who conducts research involving set theory, the
branch of mathematics that is concerned with sets of objects and rules for
their manipulation.
In his proposal, Moore suggests a way to approach the “Continuum Problem,”
which deals with the size of the set of real numbers. While the content is
highly technical, Moore will work to make his talk accessible to judges from
a range of backgrounds. Other finalists at the contest will present
proposals in areas ranging from “Gödel and German Idealism” to “Software
Verification of Gödel’s Second Incompleteness Theorem.”
For Moore, who joined Boise State’s faculty in 2000, just being at the
Vienna conference with international experts on Gödel should be fascinating.
“Gödel is a founding father in the area of research I work in,” he
explained.
-30-
Contact: Justin Moore, Department of Mathematics, (208) 426-3332,
justin@diamond.boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, University Communications (208)
426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in
Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within
eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise
State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and
public service.
The Office of Communications and Marketing
-
Boise State University
1910 University Drive -
Education Building, #726 -
Boise Idaho 83725-1030
208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001
email communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007