Atle Selberg
1917-2007
Professor Emeritus
School of Mathematics

Mathematician Atle Selberg is regarded as one of the world’s greatest analytic number theorists. He has made significant contributions to modular forms, Riemann and other zeta functions, analytic number theory, sieve methods, discrete groups, and trace formula. The impact of his work is evident from the many mathematical terms that bear his name: The Selberg Trace Formula, The Selberg Sieve, The Selberg Integral, The Selberg Class, and The Selberg Zeta Function, as well as his elementary proof of the prime number theorem, with a generalization to prime numbers in an arbitrary arithmetic progression.

Ph.D., University of Oslo, 1943; Research Fellow, University of Oslo, 1942-47; Associate Professor, Syracuse University, 1948-49; Institute for Advanced Study, Member, 1947-48, Permanent Member, 1949-51, Professor, 1951-87, Emeritus, 1987-; Fields Medal, 1950; Wolf Prize in Mathematics, 1986; Member, Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, Royal Norwegian Society of Science, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Indian National Science Academy; Honorary Member, London Mathematical Society, 1985; Honorary Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay; Knight Commander with Star, Royal Order of Saint Olaf, 1987; Bicentennial Anniversary Prize, Abel Bicentennial Conference, 2002.