Russian-born mathematician wins Abel Prize for mathematics

Mar 26, 2009, 12:07 GMT

Oslo - Russian-born Mikhail Leonidovich Gromov of France was Thursday named winner of the Abel Prize, sometimes known as the 'Nobel Prize for mathematics.'

Gromov was cited for 'his revolutionary contributions to geometry.'

The 65-year-old Gromov became a French citizen in 1992 and is a professor at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques at Bures- sur-Yvette, France.

The jury said Gromov has produced 'profoundly original general ideas, which have resulted in new perspectives on geometry and other areas of mathematics.'

Implications ranged from the DNA string to discoveries about the universe.

The jury concluded that Gromov's work 'will continue to be a source of inspiration for many future mathematical discoveries.'

The Abel Prize is worth 6 million kroner (940,000 dollars). It was first awarded 2003.

The prize was created in 2002 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel. The Norwegian is acknowledged as one of the great names in mathematics although he died only aged 26.

King Harald was due to present the award at a ceremony in Oslo on May 19, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters said.

Gromov studied and received his doctorate at the University of Leningrad in 1969. In 1974 he left the Soviet Union to become a professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook before he in 1981 moved to France.

After a year at the University of Paris he became a professor at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in Bures-sur-Yvette.

Former winners include Jacques Tits, John Griggs Thompson, Srinivasa S R Varadhan, Lennart Carleson, Peter D Lax, Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, Isadore M Singer and Jean-Pierre Serre.