Israel Halperin was the founder of a group of researchers in operator algebras and operator theory at the University of Toronto, and his influence led eventually to a very strong group in the field across Canada. He also was responsible for starting an annual meeting in the field now called the Canadian Operator Symposium (COSy) which is held at various universities across Canada. He was well known for his work on humanitarian issues.
In 1979, in his honour, a prize was established called the Israel Halperin Prize. The Israel Halperin Prize is awarded every five years for outstanding work in operator algebras or operator theory to members of the Canadian mathematical community who are within ten years of receipt of their doctorate.
Past Winners
1980 Man Duen Choi University of Toronto 1985 Kenneth Davidson University of Waterloo David Handelman University of Ottawa 1990 Ian Putnam Dalhousie University 1995 Nigel Higson Pennsylvania State University 2000 Guihua Gong University of Puerto Rico Alexandru Nica University of Waterloo 2010 Andrew Toms York University 2015 Serban Belinschi Queen's University Zhuang Niu University of Wyoming 2020 Matthew Kennedy University of Waterloo Aaron Tikuisis University of Ottawa