Support fundamental research, prize-winning mathematician urges

French mathematician Frank Merle, who won a prestigious Breakthrough Prize on Saturday, told AFP that fundamental research must be supported because it is a “foundation stone” for the future.

Merle was one of six researchers given prizes, and $3 million, at a ceremony in Los Angeles nicknamed the “Oscars of science.”

He won the mathematics prize for proving how particular forecasting models can become unstable—or “blow up”—over a long enough period.

With many countries slashing science funding—particularly the United States—Merle emphasized that that the crucial role that research plays.

“I hope people understand that fundamental research is extremely important,” the mathematician told AFP in an interview.

This research is the “foundation stone” for potentially world-changing innovations that may still be 30 years away, the 62-year-old added.

“It requires constant and regular support,” he emphasized, lamenting that this was often lacking in national discourse, “regardless of country.”

Founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs in the early 2010s, the Breakthrough Prizes recognize advancements in mathematics, fundamental physics and the life sciences.

Blowing up equations

Merle was awarded for breakthroughs in how we understand “nonlinear evolution equations,” which describe how dynamic systems such as waves or fluids change over time.

He has proved that “certain equations long thought to be well-behaved actually ‘blow up’—become infinite—in finite time,” the prizes said in a press release.

To do so, Merle tests the theoretical limits of these models, laying out scenarios for how they could evolve.

In particular, he focuses on singularities—the point when the solutions to the equations become infinite.

“We’re trying to see how long these models remain reliable and, when they become unreliable, what actually happens,” said the professor at the University of Cergy-Pontoise outside Paris.

Then Merle tries to find a more complex model that could handle the problem better.

The prizes said his work “could have implications for everything from aeronautic engineering and safety to astrophysics—anywhere where matter under extreme conditions behaves in ways that ‘blow up’ mathematical (forecasting) models.”

Merle said he hopes his win will help attract young researchers to this relatively niche area of mathematics.

He admitted that he only started in the field after pursuing math later in life, having changed his focus several times.

Merle also lamented that mathematics is seen as a “static science, when in fact it is constantly evolving.”

He compared research to a rollercoaster with “many highs and lows,” adding that there was “immense intellectual pleasure when it works.”

Collaborating with others was essential to “prevent you from facing adversity alone,” said Merle, who has worked with many prestigious universities around the world, including Stanford and Princeton in the US.

“I am very attached to France and to all my American, European and Asian colleagues,” he added.

“For me, science has no borders: I work for humanity.”

© 2026 AFP