On Alumni Day last month, Princeton awarded the James Madison Medal, the highest distinction for graduate alumni, to Terence Tao GS ’96. Tao made University history when he earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton in 1996 at just 21 years old. Tao is widely considered the world’s greatest living mathematician.
Named after Princeton alumnus and fourth President of the United States James Madison, Class of 1771, the medal is given each year to a Graduate School alumnus “who has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education, or achieved a record of outstanding public service.” Tao received his medal alongside Kevin Gover ’78, who received the Woodrow Wilson Award.
Introducing Tao, Dean of the Graduate School Rodney D. Priestley praised his “creativity,” “curiosity,” and “collaborative spirit” in the field of mathematics. His dissertation at Princeton was titled “Three Regularity Results in Harmonic Analysis.”
In 1991, at the age of 16, Tao received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Flinders University in Australia, and won a Fulbright scholarship to pursue mathematics at Princeton in 1992.
“Many graduate students like myself finished at the top of my class from a small university, but there was a lot that my university did not cover, and being around both top faculty and extremely knowledgeable and talented students [at Princeton] did eventually push me to broaden and upgrade my math education,” Tao said in a statement to the ‘Prince.’
Tao jokingly admitted he “perhaps spent a bit too much time in [his] first two years on computer games and other distractions.”
For his first time living away from home and having “few life skills,” Tao credited Princeton’s “small-town nature” and the “tightly knit graduate community, in particular, the policy of placing all the first-year graduate students in the Graduate College” for helping his young self develop.
Tao also credited his classmate Allen Knutson, now a professor of mathematics at Cornell University, for collaborating with him on projects outside of his core area of harmonic analysis and “greatly broadening” his math education.
Tao described the environment during his time at the Graduate School as uniquely collaborative, where his peers “self-organized seminars, mock qualifying exams, and the like,” which were helpful for him.
There was a lively culture at the math department, where faculty and students would “mingle, discuss either mathematical topics or current events,” or play mathematical games such as bridge and Go.
While Tao attributed his success at Princeton to his most influential mentors, Elias Stein, his dissertation advisor, and Ingrid Daubechies, a former professor of mathematics, he noted the “hands off” approach to Ph.D. education in the mathematics department at the time. The department provided “all the resources needed” such as library access, computer accounts, and available faculty and graduate courses.
In 2006, Tao won the Fields Medal, generally regarded as the highest international prize in mathematics, for his work in “partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis and additive number theory.” He also earned a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006 and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics in 2014.
Currently, Tao is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he serves as the James and Carol Collins Chair in the College of Letters and Sciences. Appointed at 24 years old, he remains the youngest person promoted to the rank of full professor by the institution.
Tao has worked in outreach to make higher education more accessible. He serves as Director of Special Projects at UCLA’s Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, where he focuses on abstract mathematical theory with real-world applications, including AI-driven mathematics. He was named to former U.S. President Joe Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in 2021, a body that makes policy recommendations based on its expertise.
As part of the Trump administration’s push to slash federal spending, the National Science Foundation suspended 1,600 research grants worth over 1 billion dollars in grants, directly affecting Tao and UCLA’s Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics. Tao has spoken out against federal cuts to scientific research and education funding.
Upon receiving the medal, Tao emphasized that sustained investment in mathematics and basic research is essential, noting that these fields support advances in technology, security, and the broader economy.
Aitana Camponovo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Washington, D.C. and can be reached at ac9353[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
USG meeting kicks off second half of semester with club funding and athletics updates
Gray CollinsHolding its meeting over Zoom due to student travel, USG approved funding for upcoming cultural events, reviewed its spring budget, and shared updates on athletics engagement initiatives.
Holding its meeting over Zoom due to student travel, USG approved funding for upcoming cultural events, reviewed its spring budget, and shared updates on athletics engagement initiatives.
Men’s volleyball cuts its winning streak short after loss to CSUN
Andrew KangPrinceton men’s volleyball ends its road trip with a loss against CSUN.
Princeton men’s volleyball ends its road trip with a loss against CSUN.
Men’s lacrosse powers through to win first Ivy League game of the 2026 season
Emilia ReayOn Saturday, the Tigers managed to take down the Bulldogs 11–10 away at Reese Stadium.
On Saturday, the Tigers managed to take down the Bulldogs 11–10 away at Reese Stadium.