Andrew Wiles, professor of mathematics, emeritus has won the Abel Prize from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters for his proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.
The Academy's website explains that, "The [Abel] prize recognizes contributions of extraordinary depth and influence to the mathematical sciences." Work considered for the prize may have resolved fundamental mathematical problems, created powerful new techniques, introduced unifying principles or opened up major new fields of research.
"The intent is to award prizes over the course of time in a broad range of fields within the mathematical sciences," it notes.
Wiles is the third consecutive Abel Prize winner associated with the University. In 2015, the prize was shared by the late John Nash, a senior research mathematician at the University, and his colleague Louis Nirenberg, a professor emeritus at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. In 2014, the prize was given to University Professor of Mathematics Yakov Sinai.
Wiles did not respond to request for comment.
Luigi Ambrosio, one of the committee members tasked with choosing a recipient for the prize, said that Wiles’ proof has led to important developments in Algebra and Number Theory.
John Rognes, chair of the abel committee and professor of algebra, geometry and topology at Norway's UiO university, did not respond to request for comment.
“The story of this problem [Fermet's Last Theorem], covered also in some popularization books, is fascinating, and tells us a lot about the way ideas develop in mathematics,” Ambrosio noted.
According to a press release on the Abel Prize’s website, Wiles has been intrigued by the problem since he was a child growing up in Cambridge, England, when he picked up a book about Fermat’s Last Theorem in his public library.
Fermat’s Last Theorem states that there are no whole number solutions to the equation "a^n + b^n = c^n" when n is greater than 2.
According to the press release, Wiles was fascinated that the problem was simple enough to be understood by a young boy, but that the proof behind it had remained unsolved for 300 years.
In 1982, Wiles joined Princeton as a professor of mathematics, where he began to work on the equation. Finally, he was able to solve the problem in 1994, by combining the three complex mathematical fields of modular forms, elliptic curves, and Galois representations.
Ambrosio adds that “Wiles' proof does not cover only Fermat's theorem, a fascinating but maybe a bit isolated question in modern Number Theory, but provides the confirmation of the so-called modularity conjecture, a central question in this area.”
Wiles will receive the award from Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway at an award ceremony in Oslo on May 24, 2016. Along with the award, Wiles will receive a $700,000 cash prize.
Professor David Gabai, chair of the math department, did not respond to request for comment.
Professor Igor Rodnianski, acting chair of the math department, did not respond to request for comment.Read More
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