Vincent Tassion: inaugrual lecture
On 9 October, Professor Vincent Tassion gave his inaugural lecture entitled: "Percolation theory: a mathematical perspective". He has been assistant professor at the Department since January 2017.
Laudatio by Robert Weismantel, Deputy Head of Department:
Dear Rector, dear Vincent, dear colleagues and guests,
Inaugural lectures are wonderful occasions, as they reflect how a department is active and developing. Today, I’m delighted to present Vincent Tassion, who joins the Mathematics Department as Assistant Professor.
Vincent Tassion was born in 1986. He studied Mathematics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, and after graduating in 2014, worked as a post-doctoral student with Hugo Duminil-Copin at the Université de Genève. In 2015, he was awarded the Swissmap Innovator Prize for his brilliant research.
Vincent’s research focuses on phase transitions in models of statistical physics – a key topic in probability theory for some decades now. Essentially, his work uses discrete models, such as percolation theory and the Ising model, to describe and explain physical and chemical phenomena. Despite significant progress over the last 50 years, a number of questions remain unanswered today, including an insight into phase transitions for three-dimensional models. In recent years, Vincent Tassion has published pioneering work which, on the one hand, resolves these long-standing issues, and on the other, offers a completely new perspective.
Vincent Tassion is an outstanding mathematician who will be a terrific asset to his colleagues and students in the Department of Mathematics. I’d like you all to join me in warmly welcoming Vincent today.