Modern Thermodynamics: From Heat Engines to Dissipative Structures
(with D. Kondepudi)
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester
1998

The End of Certainty, Time, Chaos and the New Laws of Nature
(with I. Stengers)
The Free Press, New York
1997

Exploring Complexity
(with G. Nicolis)
W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco
1989

Order Out of Chaos
(with I. Stengers)
Bantam Books, New York
1983

From Being to Becoming: Time and Complexity in the Physical Sciences
W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco
1980

Self-Organization in Non-Equilibrium Systems: From Dissipative Structures to Order Through Fluctuations
(with G. Nicolis)
J. Wiley & Sons, New York
1977

Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics
Wiley-Interscience, New York
1962

Short Biography

Ilya Prigogine was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1977 for his contributions to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures. He was born in Moscow, Russia on January 25, 1917. He obtained both his undergraduate and graduate education in chemistry at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He is Regental Professor and Ashbel Smith Professor of Physics and Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1967, he founded the Center for Statistical Mechanics, later renamed the Ilya Prigogine Center for Studies in Statistical Mechanics and Complex Systems. Since 1959, he has been the director of the International Solvay Institutes in Brussels, Belgium. In 1989, Prigogine was awarded the title of Viscount by the King of Belgium. He is a member of 64 national and professional organizations, among which are the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The most recent of Prigogine's many international activities are Special Advisor to the European Community in Brussels, Belgium and Honorary Member of the World Commission of Culture and Development of UNESCO, chaired by Perez de Cuellar.

The main theme of the scientific work of Ilya Prigogine has been a better understanding of the role of time in the physical sciences and in biology. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of irreversible processes, particularly in systems far from equilibrium. The results of his work on dissipative structures have stimulated many scientists throughout the world and may have profound consequences for our understanding of biological systems.

Prigogine has received numerous national awards and prizes, including the Golden Medal of the Swante Arrhenius, Swedish Academy; Rumford Gold Medal, Royal Society of London; the Descartes Medal, Paris; Commander of the Legion of Honor, France; Imperial Order of the Rising Sun (Gold & Silver Medals), Japan; Medaille d'Or, France; Russian International Scientific Award, First "N. N. Bogolyubov Prize," Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna; Medal of the President of the Italian Senate, awarded by Pio Manzu International Research Center, Italy; Norbert Wiener Gold Medal of Ukbridge; Medal of Member of the European Academy of Yuste; Silver Medal of V.I. Vernadskiy, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Russia and Commander of the World Order "Science. Culture. Education." European Academy of Information, 2002. He has received 53 honorary degrees.