Institute for Advanced Study Faculty and Members win Wolf and Crafoord Prizes
Three members of the Faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study, two former Members and a former Visitor have been honored with major prizes. Pierre Deligne, Professor Emeritus in the School of Mathematics at the Institute; Phillip A. Griffiths, Professor in the School of Mathematics and former Institute Director (1991-2003); and David B. Mumford, former Member in the School of Mathematics (1962-63, 1981-82) and currently University Professor at Brown University, have been chosen to receive the 2008 Wolf Prize in Mathematics.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that it will present the 2008 Crafoord Prize in Astronomy and Mathematics to Edward Witten, Charles Simonyi Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute; former joint Member in the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Mathematics Maxim Kontsevich (1992-93) of Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France; and former Visitor in the School of Natural Sciences Rashid Sunyaev (2005 and 2006), of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
Peter Goddard, Director of the Institute, commented, "We are delighted to see the seminal work in mathematics and astrophysics being done by our Faculty, Members and Visitors receiving further international recognition by the award of these important prizes. The Institute is very proud of the achievements of these mathematicians and physicists, which have had profound impact on the development of their subjects over recent decades."
The Wolf Prize committee selected Professor Deligne for his work on mixed Hodge theory, the Weil conjectures and the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence and for his contributions to arithmetic. Professor Griffiths will be honored for his work on variations of Hodge structures, the theory of periods of abelian integrals and for his contributions to complex differential geometry. Mumford was chosen for his work on algebraic surfaces, on geometric invariant theory and for laying the foundations of the modern algebraic theory of moduli of curves and theta functions. The prizes will be presented by the President of Israel in the Chagall Hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 25.
This year's Crafoord Prize rewards mathematical discoveries that are significant for the fundamental laws of nature and research on black holes and the early Universe. Half the prize will be shared by Professors Witten and Kontsevich for "their important contributions to mathematics inspired by modern theoretical physics." The other half goes to Professor Sunyaev for "his decisive contributions to high energy astrophysics and cosmology."
The Crafoord Prize promotes international basic research in disciplines that complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are awarded. These include astronomy and mathematics, geosciences and biosciences (with a particular emphasis on ecology). There is also an occasional prize awarded in polyarthritis (also know as rheumatoid arthritis, the disease from which the prize founder suffered) when a special committee recognizes major advances in the field. The Crafoord Prize award will be presented in Stockholm on April 23, in the presence of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf.
About the Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study is one of the world’s leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. The Institute exists to encourage and support curiosity-driven research in the sciences and humanities—the original, often speculative thinking that produces advances in knowledge that change the way we understand the world. Work at the Institute takes place in four Schools: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Science. It provides for the mentoring of scholars by a permanent Faculty of approximately 30, and it ensures the freedom to undertake research that will make significant contributions in any of the broad range of fields in the sciences and humanities studied at the Institute.
The Institute, founded in 1930, is a private, independent academic institution located in Princeton, New Jersey. Its more than 6,000 former Members hold positions of intellectual and scientific leadership throughout the academic world. Thirty-three Nobel Laureates and 40 out of 56 Fields Medalists, as well as many winners of the Wolf and MacArthur prizes, have been affiliated with the Institute.