Akshay Venkatesh Awarded Honorary Doctorate from University of Western Australia

Akshay Venkatesh, Robert and Luisa Fernholz Professor in the Institute's School of Mathematics, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Western Australia.

Venkatesh, who won the Fields Medal in 2018, enrolled at the University of Western Australia in 1995 at the age of thirteen and graduated three years later, making him the university's youngest-ever student to earn first class honors in pure mathematics.

During his acceptance speech at the August 22 ceremony, Venkatesh emphasized the value of curiosity-driven research, calling for greater opportunity for others to pursue scholarship without concern for immediate practical application.

Watch the ceremony in the window above, and read more at the University of Western Australia.