Proving that the Mandelbrot set is connected during the 1980s marked a pivotal moment in the career of Nessim Sibony. Born in Marrakech in 1947, the French mathematician dedicated his life to the complexities of several complex variables and high-dimensional dynamics. He sustained a long academic career at the University of Paris-Sud, where he contributed extensively to mathematical research until his death in 2021.
Academic Foundation and Research
Sibony earned his PhD from the University of Paris-Sud in 1974, with a thesis titled Problèmes de prolongement analytique et d'approximation polynômiale pondérée. He maintained a professorship at the same institution starting in 1981. His scholarly work focused on complex analysis and dynamics, often exploring Fatou-Julia theory in several variables. He frequently collaborated with researchers such as Dinh Tien-Cuong, Eric Bedford, and John Erik Fornæss to advance the understanding of singular foliations and polynomial-like mappings.
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His work often centered on the intersections of currents and holomorphic dynamical systems. In 1990, he served as an invited speaker in Kyōto to present findings on weakly pseudoconvex domains. His published output includes significant papers in the Journal of Algebraic Geometry, such as studies on the density of positive closed currents and super-potentials for currents on compact Kähler manifolds. He also authored texts for the SMF/AMS series, contributing to the broader literature on rational maps and polynomial convexity.
Distinctions and Professional Service
The French Academy of Sciences acknowledged his work on multiple occasions, awarding him the Vaillant Prize in 1985 and the Sophie Germain Prize in 2009. From 2009 to 2014, he held the status of senior member at the Institut Universitaire de France. His career culminated in the 2017 Stefan Bergman Prize. He died in Brussels on 30 October 2021 and was interred at the Cimetière parisien de Bagneux.
Fast facts
- Born: 1947, Marrakech
- Died: 30 October 2021, Brussels
- PhD: 1974, University of Paris-Sud
- Career tenure: 1981–2021, University of Paris-Sud
- 2017 Award: Stefan Bergman Prize
- 2009 Award: Sophie Germain Prize
- 1985 Award: Vaillant Prize
Questions readers ask
What was Nessim Sibony's main field of study?
He specialized in the theory of several complex variables and complex dynamics in higher dimensions.
Where was Sibony an academic?
He was a professor at the University of Paris-Sud in Orsay, beginning in 1981.
Achievements
- Stefan Bergman Prize — 2017
- Held posts at University of Paris-Sud
