David Ruelle


David Pierre Ruelle is a Belgian-French mathematical physicist. He has worked on statistical physics and dynamical systems. With Floris Takens, Ruelle coined the term strange attractor, and founded a new theory of turbulence.

Education and career

Ruelle studied physics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, obtaining a PhD degree in 1959.
He spent two years at the ETH Zurich, and another two years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1964, he became Professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, in Bures-sur-Yvette, France. Since 2000, he is an Emeritus Professor at IHES and distinguished visiting professor at Rutgers University.

Awards and honors

In 1985, Ruelle was awarded the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics. In 1986, he received the Boltzmann Medal for his outstanding contributions to statistical mechanics, and in 1993 the Holweck Prize. In 2004, he received the Matteucci Medal, and in 2006 the Henri Poincaré Prize. In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
In 2014, he was awarded the Max Planck Medal for his achievements in theoretical physics.

Books