Royal Society Africa Prize

The Royal Society Africa Prize is awarded to Professor Ali Baklouti for his work on non-commutative harmonic analysis and geometry on homogeneous spaces.
This talk explores the fundamental role of Lie theory in advancing diverse scientific fields, particularly those related to living systems. A key aspect of this contribution lies in deformation theory, which enhances our understanding of symmetries and their transformations across various disciplines.
 
By examining Lie groups and their deformations, this presentation illustrates their far-reaching impact in fields such as medicine, physics, chemistry, and biology. These mathematical structures offer new perspectives and innovative solutions to complex scientific challenges, fostering interdisciplinary advancements.
 
Beyond its applications in the life sciences, Lie theory remains central to pure mathematics, particularly in harmonic analysis, differential geometry, and algebra, while also influencing modern developments in theoretical physics and computer science. This talk underscores the unifying power of Lie groups and deformations, positioning them as essential tools for both theoretical exploration and practical innovation across multiple scientific domains.
 
This talk will also introduce new conjectures in deformation theory and present key breakthroughs in representation theory, solving long-standing open problems. These contributions provide deeper insights into the structure of Lie groups and their applications, paving the way for further discoveries in mathematics and beyond.