January 18, 2007
Distinguished Professor At The University Of Miami Receives Crafoord Prize
CORAL GABLES, FL (January 18, 2007) -- The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Crafoord Prize to University of Miami Distinguished Professor Maxim Kontsevich, who was awarded a Fields Medal in 1998.
The prize, one of the world’s largest scientific awards, is offered to researchers whose works have made outstanding contributions in disciplines, which complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are granted. The announcement was made on Thursday, January 17, at 8:00 a.m. Swedish time.
“It is an immense honor to have Maxim Kontsevich, a leading researcher in the field of mathematics, at the University of Miami and I am pleased to see his accomplishments recognized by this award,” said the Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, Michael R. Halleran. “Our students and faculty have the magnificent opportunity to work with and learn from a researcher whose work is being honored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Science.”
The award is given annually, on a rotating basis in the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics, Geosciences, Biosciences and Polyarthritis research.
On this occasion, the award was presented to three scientists in the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics: Maxim Kontsevich, Edward Witten and Rashid Alievich Sunyaev.
The Crafoord Prize was established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord to promote international basic research.
On April 23, the prize of $500,000 will be presented, by the King of Sweden, jointly, to Kontsevich and Witten “for their important contributions to mathematics inspired by modern theoretical physics,” stated the Academy. The award sum is expected to fund further research by the prize winners.
“Although I don’t think it will change me, or my work, it is a great honor to receive this recognition,” Kontsevich said. “I like the University of Miami, the friends I have here, and the work we do, then I also like the palm trees and the magnificent nature around us.”
“Maxim Kontsevich is one of the most important mathematicians of our time,” said Department of Mathematics Chairman, Alan Zame. “His main contributions have been in the areas of string theory, quantum field theory, knot theory, and many other areas of mathematics and mathematical physics. He is a creator of “homological mirror symmetry,” he said. “Much of his work is related to theoretical physics- the physics generates deep mathematics which may have applications to a wide variety of mathematics problems, and the mathematics in turn solves problems in physics,” Zame said.
Kontsevich has been a professor of Mathematics at the Institut des Hautes Ètudes Scientifiques, in France, since 1995. In 2002, at the invitation of Zame, and of friend and colleague Ludmil Katzarkov, he came to the University of Miami, for a conference, and has returned annually to teach. Kontsevich 43, was born in Khimki, Russia. He is married to Ekaterina Kontsevich, together they have one child
While at the University, Kontsevich has had the opportunity to work with faculty in the department, Katzarkov in particular, and is a participant in a National Science Foundation grant. Kontsevich is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and of Legion d'Honneur.
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