2020 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Nalini Anantharaman

University of Strasbourg

For her profound contributions to microlocal analysis and mathematical physics, in particular to problems of localization and delocalization of eigenfunctions.

A French mathematician, Nalini Anantharaman studies quantum chaos, dynamical systems and the Shrödinger equation. More »

2018 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Assaf Naor

Princeton University

For his profound work on the geometry of metric spaces, which has led to breakthroughs in the theory of algorithms.

Naor’s specialty is analysis and geometry, with additional interest in related questions in combinatorics, probability and theoretical computer science.  More »

2016 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

János Kollár

Princeton University

For his fundamental contributions to algebraic geometry, including the minimal model program and its applications, the theory of rational connectedness and the study of real algebraic varieties.

Kollár’s specialty is algebraic geometry with additional interest in related questions in number theory, complex geometry and commutative algebra. He is well known for his contributions to the minimal model program for threefolds, for pioneering the notion of rational connectedness and for finding counterexamples to a conjecture of the late John Nash.  More »

2014 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Michael Hopkins

Harvard University

For his fundamental contributions to algebraic topology, stable homotopy theory and derived algebraic geometry.

Hopkins’ work has revolutionized the field of algebraic topology, a field of mathematics which studies topological or geometric structures using the methods of algebra. He has pioneered the application of homotopy theory to a range of areas in mathematics, collaborating with geometers, number theorists and mathematical physicists.  More »

2012 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Ingrid Daubechies

Duke University

For her numerous and lasting contributions to applied and computational analysis and for the remarkable impact her work has had across engineering and the sciences

Daubechies is the academic leader in the broad area of theoretical signal processing. She is world-renowned for her many pioneering contributions to the theory and application of wavelets and filter-banks. Her work on wavelets had a profound impact on the extensive field of mathematical research known as computational harmonic analysis. It found powerful applications in the areas of data compression, compressed sensing and digital communications, and it has an impact on a wide range of scientific disciplines. The influence of her work is realized daily in millions of consumer and technological products. More »

2010 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Terence Tao

For mathematics of astonishing breadth, depth and originality

Tao is well known for a proof, in collaboration with British mathematician Ben J. Green, of the existence of arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions of prime numbers (the Green-Tao theorem). A winner of both the Fields Medal and MacArthur Fellowship, Tao is known as a supreme problem-solver whose work in partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory has had an impact across several mathematical areas. More »

2008 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Simon Donaldson

For groundbreaking work in four-dimensional topology, symplectic geometry and gauge theory, and for his remarkable use of ideas from physics to advance pure mathematics

Donaldson's breakthrough work developed new techniques in the geometry of four-manifolds and the study of their smooth structures. He has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of symplectic manifolds, the phase-spaces of classical mechanics, and he shows that a surprisingly large part of the theory of algebraic geometry extends to them. More »

2006 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Robert P. Langlands

For his fundamental vision connecting representation theory, automorphic forms and number theory

Langlands is best known for the fundamental research program that bears his name. This program postulates a deep relationship between two different areas of mathematics, number theory and automorphic forms, via a study of their symmetries, and has served as a unifying principle in mathematics. More »

2004 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Mikhael L. Gromov

For his work in Riemannian geometry, which revolutionized the subject; his theory of pseudoholomorphic curves in symplectic manifolds; his solution of the problem of groups of polynomial growth; and his construction of the theory of hyperbolic groups

Gromov's work has been revolutionary in a number of basic areas of modern geometry. Reflecting his extraordinary creativity, his work is both elegant and immediately relevant to problems in applied mathematics and mathematical physics. More »

2002 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Yakov G. Sinai

For work revolutionizing the study of dynamical systems and influenced statistical mechanics, probability theory and statistical physics

Sinai's work deals with measuring dynamical systems, or systems that change over time, such as weather, the motion of planets and economic systems. He was the first to come up with a mathematical foundation for determining the number that defines the complexity of a given dynamical system. His mathematical system is called Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy. More »

2000 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Edward Witten

For his many contributions to particle physics and string theory

A leading scholar in the field of superstring theory regarded as the world's premier theoretical physicist, Witten almost single-handedly constructed a new branch of mathematical physics. By interpreting physical ideas in mathematical form, he has applied physical insight that has led to new and deep mathematical theorems. His work on topological quantum field theory along with achievements in mathematics inspired by insights from physics earned him the Fields Medal. More »

1998 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

John H. Conway

For his work in the study of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, game theory, coding theory, tiling, and the creation of new number systems

Conway is one of the preeminent theorists in the study of finite groups (the mathematical abstraction of symmetry) and one of the world's foremost knot theorists. He is the author of more than 10 books and more than 130 journal articles on a wide variety of mathematical subjects. More »

1996 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Joseph B. Keller

For distinguished work in applied mathematics, solving problems of wave propagation, mathematical modeling, and analysis of physical phenomena

Keller is regarded by many as the world's most distinguished applied mathematician. He originated the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction to solve problems of wave propagation, which has become an indispensable tool for engineers and scientists working on radar, the design of antennas and on high frequency systems in complicated environments. More »

1994 Nemmers Prize in Mathematics Recipient

Yuri I. Manin

For fundamentally contributing to diverse branches of mathematics like algebraic geometry, number theory, and mathematical physics, solving major problems and developing techniques opening new avenues of research

Manin is widely regarded as one of the outstanding mathematicians of the 20th century. One of his numerous contributions was the introduction of what is now known as Gauss-Manin connection, an indispensable tool in modern algebraic geometry in its own right. More »