MG 16 · 2021
Demetrios Christodoulou
Demetrios Christodoulou is a mathematical physicist known for foundational work on nonlinear general relativity, gravitational waves, black-hole formation, and shock waves.
1951, Athens, Greece
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
“For his many lasting contributions to the foundation of mathematical physics including the dynamics of relativistic gravitational fields.”
MG XVI, online meeting
Work
Mathematical relativity studies Einstein's equations as nonlinear partial differential equations, asking when spacetimes exist, remain stable, or form singularities.
Christodoulou contributed to the black-hole mass-energy formula, discovered the nonlinear gravitational-wave memory effect, and developed major results on spacetime stability and black-hole formation.
His work turned central questions in general relativity into precise mathematical theorems and clarified how gravitational radiation can leave permanent physical effects.