A Personal Journey through Optimal Transport: Fields medalist Alessio Figalli interviewed by Luigi Ambrosio

The Springer Math Podcast

In this episode, our guest is Alessio Figalli, Director of the Institute for Mathematical Research at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Professor Figalli completed his Ph.D. at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa in Italy and at the École Normale Supérieure of Lyon in France. He has also worked as a researcher at universities in France, the United States, and Switzerland.
His achievements have been recognized with several prizes, including the Fields Medal in 2018 for his contributions to the theory of optimal transport, and the European Mathematical Society Prize in 2012 in recognition of his excellent contributions to mathematics.
In a lively conversation with Luigi Ambrosio, a Professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Figalli discusses his early days in mathematics and his unique career path. He also comments on the differences in university systems among countries, how he manages his time with professional, personal, and family duties, the increasing importance of optimal transport in recent years, and his approach to problem-solving in mathematics.
Originally aired by the UNITEXT Springer Nature Webinars series, this interview has been specifically adapted for the podcast format.

Chapters

1. A Personal Journey through Optimal Transport: Fields medalist Alessio Figalli interviewed by Luigi Ambrosio (00:00:00)

2. Introduction (00:00:18)

3. The discovery of an interest in mathematics (00:01:46)

4. The differences between university systems in Europe and the US (00:09:00)

5. Achieving a balance between personal, family, and work matters (00:17:18)

6. Research in Optimal Transport: Current landscape and future trends (00:22:53)

7. Connections between Optimal Transport and Machine Learning (00:30:45)

8. Approaches to problem-solving in mathematics (00:33:30)

9. The issue of brain drain (00:38:11)

10. Careers in research within the private sector (00:42:38)

11. Final words (00:43:35)