The Mathematics of László Lovász

Abstract

This is an exposition of the contributions of László Lovász to mathematics and computer science written on the occasion of the bestowal of the Abel Prize 2021 to him. Our survey, of course, cannot be exhaustive. We sketch remarkable results that solved well-known open and important problems and that – in addition – had lasting impact on the development of subsequent research and even started whole new theories. Although discrete mathematics is what one can call the Lovász home turf, his interests were, from the beginning of his academic career, much broader. He employed algebra, geometry, topology, analysis, stochastics, statistical physics, optimization, and complexity theory, to name a few, to contribute significantly to the explosive growth of combinatorics; but he also exported combinatorial techniques to many other fields, and thus built enduring bridges between several branches of mathematics and computer science. Topics such as computational convexity or topological combinatorics, for example, would not exist without his fundamental results. We also briefly mention his substantial influence on various developments in applied mathematics such as the optimization of real-world applications and cryptography.