The Vasil A. Popov Prize was established in memory of the late Professor Vasil A. Popov of Bulgaria in recognition of his outstanding contributions to mathematics. The Prize was created in 1995 and has been maintained solely by contributions from his colleagues, friends, and those who support the existence of such a prize. The Prize recognizes distinguished research accomplishments in Approximation Theory and related areas of mathematics. Eligibility for the Prize is restricted to young mathematicians removed less than 6 years from their doctoral degree.

The Vasil A. Popov Prize, which consists of an engraved marble trophy and a cash award of 2000 euros, is awarded every third year at the Foundation of Computational Mathematics (FOCM) conference.

The Vasil A. Popov Prize is good for mathematics ! It brings recognition to an important area of mathematical research, bridging theory and applications, and encourages young talented mathematicians engaging into this area.

The First Prize in 1995 was awarded to Albert Cohen (Paris VI) ; the Second Prize in 1998 to Arno Kuijlaars (Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium) ; the Third Prize in 2001 to Emmanuel Candes (Cal Tech) ; the Fourth Prize in 2004 to Serguei Denissov (University of Wisconsin-Madison) ; the Fifth Prize in 2007 to Mauro Maggioni (Duke University) ; the Sixth Prize in 2010 to Joel A. Tropp (California Institute of Technology) ; the Seventh Prize in 2013 to Andriy Bondarenko (National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv) ; the Eighth Prize in 2016 to Jean-Marie Mirebeau (CNRS, Université Paris-Sud) ; and the Ninth Prize in 2020 to Danylo Radchenko (ETH, Zurich). Please visit our Previous Winners page for details on these award winners.

The Selection Committee for the Vasil A. Popov Prize consists of :

Emmanuel Candes (Stanford University),
Albert Cohen, Chair (Université Pierre et Marie Curie),
Wolfgang Dahmen (University of South Carolina),
Karlheinz Gröchenig (Universität Wien),
Peter Oswald (University of Bonn),
Pencho Petrushev, Co-Chair (University of South Carolina), and
Vilmos Totik (University of Szeged).

If you are interested in donating to the Popov Foundation, please visit our Donate Now page.