China Honors Mathematical Research

Elia Bruè of Bocconi’s Department of Decision Sciences was honored with the Frontiers of Science Award at the 2024 International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) in Beijing, an event that celebrates outstanding achievements in mathematics, theoretical physics, and computer sciences. The ICBS is one of the world’s premier conferences in basic sciences, drawing prominent figures from across the globe to share cutting-edge research. Elia Bruè was selected for his contributions to the study of fluid dynamics, specifically through his 2021 paper, “Non-uniqueness of Leray solutions of the forced Navier-Stokes equations”, co-authored with fellow researchers Dallas Albritton of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Maria Colombo of EPFL Lausanne (Switzerland).

Their work, published in the prestigious Annals of Mathematics, addresses the complexity of the Navier-Stokes equations—fundamental to understanding fluid flow. Elia Bruè's research demonstrates the existence of two distinct solutions under identical conditions of zero initial velocity and body force, which resides at the boundary of current theories. This discovery has significant implications for the mathematical understanding of turbulence and the general behavior of fluids, a key area in both theoretical and applied mathematics.