Omar Léon Sánchez wins Murray Martin Prize

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The inaugural Murray Martin Prize for the Best Research Paper by a Mathematics Graduate Student is awarded to Omar Léon Sánchez. His paper, “Relative D-groups and differential Galois theory in several derivations” was nominated by his supervisor, Rahim Moosa, of the Department of Pure Mathematics.

Professor Moosa notes that Léon Sánchez’s Prize winning paper “is a major contribution to differential-algebraic geometry and differential Galois theory.” It has been accepted to appear in the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. “This foundational work, and its application to Galois theory, will certainly have a lasting and significant impact,” says Moosa.

The Murray Martin Prize winning paper is selected by the University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics Research Advisory Committee. “The committee was very impressed with the caliber of the papers nominated for this prize,” says Tamer Özsu, associate dean research and committee chair. 

The Prize, valued at $5,000, is presented annually to a graduate student or team of students enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics who has authored or co-authored an outstanding research paper as of January 31 each year. Students must be nominated by their supervisor.

This fund is made possible by a donation from Pitney Bowes Inc. to honour Murray Martin, their retired chair, president, CEO and director whose continuous investment in research and development has ensured its industry leadership.

Léon Sánchez graduated with a PhD from the Department of Pure Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in 2013. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at McMaster University.