This is like an Olympic gold or the World Cup because it is only awarded every four years, "for an outstanding contribution to the mathematical characterization and solution of a challenging problem in the physical or biological sciences, or in engineering, or for the development of mathematical methods for the solution of such problems”. Michael’s citation reads: "For seminal and wide-ranging contributions to the development and application of singular perturbation methods effective in the analysis of spatially localized structures in nonlinear PDEs.”

https://evoq-eval.siam.org/prizes-recognition/major-prizes-lectures/detail/julian-cole-lectureship