We often hear of Nobel Prizes being awarded in physics, chemistry, literature, world peace, medicine, and economics. But how little do we know about the medals or prizes given for mathematics, which is widely used in human life? Today we will know about these prestigious medals in mathematics.
Fields Medal:
When talking about medals in mathematics, the name of first medal that comes to mind is Fields Medal. Many calls it the “Nobel of Mathematics”. The award is named after Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields. The medal is awarded at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) every four years to two to four young mathematicians under the age of forty for their outstanding contributions to mathematics. From 1936 to 2022, a total of 64 people have been honored with this award, including 2 female mathematicians. Winners are awarded a gold medal and 15 thousand Canadian dollars. In 2022, a total of 4 mathematicians received this medal – Professor Jun Hu of Princeton University in the USA, Professor Hugo Duminil-Copin of France’s Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies, Professor James Maynard of England’s University of Oxford, and Professor Marina Viajovsky of Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).
Abel Prize:
Along with the Fields Medal, the Abel Prize is also known worldwide as the “Nobel of Mathematics”. Since 2001, the Norwegian government has been awarding this prize to one or more mathematicians each year. This award is named after the famous Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. The Abel Prize winner is awarded 7.5 million Norwegian kroner (equivalent to 750 thousand US dollars). A total of 25 mathematicians have received this prestigious award till 2022. Professor Dennis Parnell Sullivan of Stony Brook University in the USA was awarded the Abel Prize in 2022.
Wolf Prize:
This is one of the six prizes awarded by Israel’s Wolf Foundation for outstanding contributions to mathematics. Inaugurated in 1978, this award is considered the third most prestigious award in the field of mathematics. Although it is supposed to be given every year, it is seen that the award is not announced every year. A total of 65 mathematicians have received this award till 2022. The winning mathematicians receive a certificate and 100 thousand US dollars. Mathematics professor George Lusztig of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA received this award in 2022.
Chern Medal:
The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) has been presenting this award every four years since 2010 in recognition of lifelong research in the highest fields of mathematics. The award is named after the Chinese mathematician Shin-Shen Charn. The awardee receives a medal, a cash prize of 250 thousand US dollars, and an additional 250 thousand US dollars in grant funds to be spent on mathematics research. In 2022, Professor Barry Charles Mazur of Harvard University in the USA was awarded this prize.
Shaw Prize:
Since 2002, the Shaw Prize Foundation in Hong Kong has been awarding Shaw Prizes annually in three categories, one of which is in mathematics. This award is called the “Nobel of the Orient”. Hong Kong entertainment mogul and philanthropist Run Run Shaw introduced this award. The awardee receives a medal with Shaw’s portrait, a certificate, and 1.2 million US dollars in cash. A total of 29 mathematicians have received the Shaw Prize till 2022. Professor Noga Alon of Princeton University in the USA and Professor Ehud Hrushovski of the University of Oxford in England received the 2022 Shaw Prize in Mathematics.
Gauss Prize:
Named after the famous German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, the award has been given since 2006 for the contribution of applied research in mathematics to business, technology, and even everyday life. The prize is announced every four years jointly by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and the German Mathematical Society. The prize winner receives a medal and cash of 10 thousand euros. So far 5 people have received this award. In 2022, Professor Elliott Hershel Lieb of Princeton University in the USA received the Gauss Award.
Abacus Medal:
The International Mathematical Union (IMU) has been awarding this medal every four years since 1982 to young people for their contributions to computer science through mathematics. Prior to 2022, the medal was named ” Rolf Nevanlinna Prize” after the famous Finnish mathematician. A total of 11 people have received this medal till 2022. Israeli mathematician and theoretical computer scientist Mark Braverman received the Abacus Medal in 2022.
Ramanujan Prize:
Since 2005, the award has been given by the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy, named after the famous Indian mathematician Srinivas Ramanujan, with the aim of encouraging the research of young mathematicians under 45 years of age in developing countries. A total of 17 people have received this award so far. The awardee receives 15 thousand US dollars to further his or her research. In 2021, Professor Neena Gupta of the Indian Statistical Institute received this award.
Breakthrough Prize:
The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics is an annual prize in the Breakthrough Prize series announced in 2013. This award series was founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Israeli-Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner and others. The prize money is worth 3 million US dollars. The award was introduced to raise the profile of scientists and encourage young students to become scientists. In 2022, Professor Takurō Mochizuki of Kyoto University, Japan received this award. In addition, the Breakthrough Prize Committee has been selecting 3 more mathematicians since 2016 for the “New Horizons in Mathematics” prize of 100 thousand US dollars. Apart from this, since 2021, 3 female mathematicians are being given the “Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontier Award” worth 50 thousand US dollars.
Millennium Prize Problems:
The Clay Mathematics Institute, a Colorado-based organization, has selected seven well-known very difficult mathematical problems to increase the scope of knowledge in mathematics, announcing a prize of 1 million US dollars for solving each problem. Since its announcement in 2000, many mathematicians have tried to solve these problems. But so far only one problem has been solved. Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman won the prize in 2010 for solving the “Poincare Conjecture”, although he declined to accept it. The remaining 6 issues are still unsolved.
Apart from these awards, there are many other international and national awards for mathematics, to enhance the knowledge of mathematics, and to honor mathematicians. Although learning moves at its own pace, any reward encourages that pace to find a new rhythm.
Md. Enamul Islam is a math-loving engineer and teacher
