Van der Vorst is known in particular for several important contributions that he has provided for the acceleration of solution methods for very large systems of equations. “It is also thanks to his work that large-scale calculations have been made possible and all kinds of complex processes can be simulated faster; for instance, the design of chips or flow calculations in the development of new airplanes”, explains prof. dr. Bob Mattheij from the TU/e department of Mathematics & Computer Science, a member of this year’s organizing Holst committee.
In 2000 Van der Vorst was pronounced the world’s most cited mathematician by the American citation bureau ESI. It concerned a publication by his hand from 1992 (in which he presents a solution to the problem of nonsymmetric linear systems), which was cited 379 times in scientific articles by colleagues in the preceding ten years; this is an exceptional number indeed in the relatively small field of mathematics.

Award
After the presentation of his (English-language) lecture, Van der Vorst will be given the Holst Memorial Lecture Award. Prior to the Holst lecture there will be the traditional symposium, featuring lectures by scientists from at home and abroad.
The Holst lecture on Thursday 22 November will start at 16.00 hours in the Blauwe Zaal of the Auditorium. Participation in the symposium (which is to be opened at 11.00 hours) and in the lecture is free; registration is obligatory because of the limited number of seats./.

For more information or registration: www.holstmemoriallecture.nl.