Vladimír Šverák Receives Heinz Hopf Prize
Vladimír Šverák, Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota, has made landmark contributions to research on Navier–Stokes equations. For his exceptional accomplishments in the analysis of fluid mechanics, the Department of Mathematics at ETH Zurich will honour him with the Heinz Hopf Prize on 11 November 2025.
Šverák has devoted more than three decades to exploring the same set of equations that continue to intrigue him. He remarks:
“They’re simple, but their solutions are extremely complex,”
The Navier–Stokes equations, independently formulated by Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes in the first half of the 19th century, describe the motion of fluids and air masses. Their applications span nearly all fields of applied science and technology—from designing aerodynamic aircraft to predicting weather patterns and modeling blood flow in arteries.
Despite their broad use, these equations remain one of mathematics’ deepest unsolved problems. For years, researchers have been attempting to prove that the equations provide consistent solutions for all possible conditions, capable of forecasting the behavior of flows in any future scenario.
Author’s Summary
ETH Zurich recognizes Vladimír Šverák with the Heinz Hopf Prize 2025 for his groundbreaking work on the complex mysteries of the Navier–Stokes equations.