Abel Prize

The Abel Prize (/ˈɑːbəl/ AH-bəl; Norwegian: Abelprisen [ˈɑ̀ːbl̩ˌpriːsn̩]) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians.[1] It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] It comes with a monetary award of 7.5 million Norwegian kroner (NOK; increased from 6 million NOK in 2019).

Abel Prize
Awarded forOutstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics
CountryNorway
Presented byGovernment of Norway
First awarded2003
Websitewww.abelprize.no

The Abel Prize's history dates back to 1899, when its establishment was proposed by the Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie when he learned that Alfred Nobel's plans for annual prizes would not include a prize in mathematics. In 1902, King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway indicated his willingness to finance the creation of a mathematics prize to complement the Nobel Prizes, but the establishment of the prize was prevented by the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. It took almost a century before the prize was finally established by the Government of Norway in 2001, and it was specifically intended "to give the mathematicians their own equivalent of a Nobel Prize."[7] The laureates are selected by the Abel Committee, the members of whom are appointed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

The award ceremony takes place in the aula of the University of Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded between 1947 and 1989.[9] The Abel Prize board has also established an Abel symposium, administered by the Norwegian Mathematical Society, which takes place twice a year.[10]

History

The prize was first proposed in 1899, to be part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Niels Henrik Abel's birth in 1802.[11] The Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie proposed establishing an Abel Prize when he learned that Alfred Nobel's plans for annual prizes would not include a prize in mathematics. King Oscar II was willing to finance a mathematics prize in 1902, and the mathematicians Ludwig Sylow and Carl Størmer drew up statutes and rules for the proposed prize. However, Lie's influence decreased after his death, and the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905 ended the first attempt to create an Abel Prize.[11]

The prize is awarded in the aula of the Domus Media building of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, where the Nobel Peace Prize was formerly awarded

After interest in the concept of the prize had risen in 2001, a working group was formed to develop a proposal, which was presented to the Prime Minister of Norway in May. In August 2001, the Norwegian government announced that the prize would be awarded beginning in 2002, the two-hundredth anniversary of Abel's birth. Atle Selberg received an honorary Abel Prize in 2002, but the first actual Abel Prize was awarded in 2003.[11][12]

A book series presenting Abel Prize laureates and their research was commenced in 2010. The first three volumes cover the years 2003–2007, 2008–2012, and 2013-2017 respectively.[13][14][15]

In 2004, Professor Michael Atiyah became the first British to win the prize.

In 2007, S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan became the first Indian to win the prize and as yet he stands alone in this distinction.[16]

In 2019, Karen Uhlenbeck became the first woman to win the Abel Prize, with the award committee citing "the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics.[17] The Bernt Michael Holmboe Memorial Prize was created in 2005. Named after Abel's teacher, it promotes excellence in teaching.[18]

Selection criteria and funding

Anyone may submit a nomination for the Abel Prize, although self-nominations are not permitted. The nominee must be alive. If the awardee dies after being declared the winner, the prize will be awarded posthumously.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters declares the winner of the Abel Prize each March after recommendation by the Abel Committee, which consists of five leading mathematicians. Both Norwegians and non-Norwegians may serve on the Committee. They are elected by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and nominated by the International Mathematical Union and the European Mathematical Society.[11][19] As of 2022, the committee is chaired by Norwegian mathematician Hans Munthe-Kaas (University of Bergen),[20] and before then was headed by Professor John Rognes.[21]

Funding

The Norwegian Government gave the prize an initial funding of NOK 200 million (about €21.7 million[22]) in 2001. Previously, the funding came from the Abel foundation, but today the prize is financed directly through the national budget.

The funding is controlled by the Board, which consists of members elected by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.[19] The current leader of the Board is John Grue.

Laureates
Year Laureate(s) Image Institution(s) Citation
2003 Jean-Pierre Serre Collège de France "For playing a key role in shaping the modern form of many parts of mathematics, including topology, algebraic geometry and number theory."[23]
2004 Michael Atiyah University of Edinburgh

University of Cambridge

 "For their discovery and proof of the index theorem, bringing together topology, geometry and analysis, and their outstanding role in building new bridges between mathematics and theoretical physics."[24]
Isadore Singer Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of California, Berkeley
2005 Peter Lax Courant Institute (NYU) "For his groundbreaking contributions to the theory and application of partial differential equations and to the computation of their solutions."[25]
2006 Lennart Carleson Royal Institute of Technology "For his profound and seminal contributions to harmonic analysis and the theory of smooth dynamical systems."[26]
2007 S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan Courant Institute (NYU) "For his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviation."[27]
2008 John G. Thompson University of Florida "For their profound achievements in algebra and in particular for shaping modern group theory."[28]
Jacques Tits Collège de France
2009 Mikhail Gromov Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques[29] and Courant Institute[30] "For his revolutionary contributions to geometry."[31]
2010 John Tate University of Texas at Austin "For his vast and lasting impact on the theory of numbers."[32]
2011 John Milnor Stony Brook University "For pioneering discoveries in topology, geometry, and algebra."[33]
2012 Endre Szemerédi Alfréd Rényi Institute
and Rutgers University		 "For his fundamental contributions to discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science, and in recognition of the profound and lasting impact of these contributions on additive number theory and ergodic theory."[34]
2013 Pierre Deligne Institute for Advanced Study "For seminal contributions to algebraic geometry and for their transformative impact on number theory, representation theory, and related fields."[35]
2014 Yakov Sinai Princeton University and Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics[36] "For his fundamental contributions to dynamical systems, ergodic theory, and mathematical physics."[37]
2015 John F. Nash Jr. Princeton University "For striking and seminal contributions to the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations and its applications to geometric analysis."[38]
Louis Nirenberg Courant Institute (NYU)
2016 Andrew Wiles University of Oxford[39][40] "For his stunning proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by way of the modularity conjecture for semistable elliptic curves, opening a new era in number theory."[41]
2017 Yves Meyer École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay "For his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets."[42]
2018 Robert Langlands Institute for Advanced Study "For his visionary program connecting representation theory to number theory."[43]
2019 Karen Uhlenbeck University of Texas at Austin "For her pioneering achievements in geometric partial differential equations, gauge theory and integrable systems, and for the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics."[44]
2020 Hillel Furstenberg Hebrew University of Jerusalem "For pioneering the use of methods from probability and dynamics in group theory, number theory and combinatorics."[45]
Grigory Margulis Yale University
2021 László Lovász Eötvös Loránd University "For their foundational contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, and their leading role in shaping them into central fields of modern mathematics".[46]
Avi Wigderson Institute for Advanced Study
2022 Dennis Sullivan Stony Brook University and The Graduate Center, CUNY "For his groundbreaking contributions to topology in its broadest sense, and in particular its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspects."[47]

See also
  • Fields Medal
  • List of prizes known as the Nobel of a field
  • List of mathematics awards

References
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  2. "Robert P. Langlands Is Awarded the Abel Prize, a Top Math Honor". Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. Dreifus, Claudia (29 March 2005). "From Budapest to Los Alamos, a Life in Mathematics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. Cipra, Barry A. (26 March 2009). "Russian Mathematician Wins Abel Prize". ScienceNOW. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  5. Laursen, Lucas (26 March 2009). "Geometer wins maths 'Nobel'". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2009.196. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  6. Foderaro, Lisa W. (31 May 2009). "In N.Y.U.'s Tally of Abel Prizes for Mathematics, Gromov Makes Three". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  7. Devlin, Keith (April 2004). "Abel Prize Awarded: The Mathematicians' Nobel". Mathematical Association of America. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  8. Piergiorgio Odifreddi; Arturo Sangalli (2006). The Mathematical Century: The 30 Greatest Problems of the Last 100 Years. Princeton University Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-691-12805-7. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
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  12. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Atle Selberg", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews
  13. H. Holden; R. Piene, eds. (2010). The Abel Prize 2003–2007. The Abel Prize. Heidelberg: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01373-7. ISBN 978-3-642-01372-0. Archived from the original on 1 November 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  14. H. Holden; R. Piene, eds. (2014). The Abel Prize 2008–2012. The Abel Prize. Heidelberg: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39449-2. ISBN 978-3-642-39449-2. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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  22. "Google Currency Converter". Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
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  40. "Sir Andrew J. Wiles receives the Abel Prize" (Press release). The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  41. "2016: Sir Andrew J. Wiles". The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Retrieved 21 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  44. "2019: Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck". The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Retrieved 21 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. "2020: Hillel Furstenberg and Gregory Margulis". The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Retrieved 21 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  46. "2021: László Lovász and Avi Wigderson". abelprize.no. Retrieved 21 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  47. "Prize winner 2022". The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
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