Karazin University Alumnus Pavlo Kovtun Receives the Prestigious 2026 CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics

A graduate of the Education and Research Institute “School of Physics and Technology” (Class of 1999) of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, and currently a professor at the University of Victoria (Canada), Pavlo Kovtun has been awarded the prestigious 2026 CAP-CRM Prize in theoretical and mathematical physics.

This annual award is presented by the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and the Centre de Recherches Mathématiques (CRM) for outstanding scientific achievements.

Pavlo Kovtun was honored for his groundbreaking contributions to establishing unexpected connections between string theory (AdS/CFT correspondence) and calculations of the viscosity of quantum fluids. This led to the discovery of the famous Kovtun–Son–Starinets (KSS) bound, which revealed profound fundamental links between gravity, quantum field theory, and hydrodynamics.

His fundamental work is of great importance for the study of quark–gluon plasma and extreme states of matter, where quantum mechanics, relativity theory, and statistical physics intersect.

Background. Pavlo Kovtun received his higher education at the Education and Research Institute “School of Physics and Technology” of Karazin University, after which he continued his studies in graduate school at the University of Washington (USA), worked at the world-renowned Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, and has been conducting research and teaching in Canada since 2007.

We sincerely congratulate Pavlo on this high international recognition and wish our alumnus new major discoveries and inspiration.

His success is further proof that a fundamental education at Karazin University opens doors to the global scientific elite.