FIELDS MEDAL

Aug. 2, 2018

Akshay Venkatesh, an Indian-origin mathematician, along with 3 others won Fields Medal, considered to be the Nobel Prize of mathematics.

About:

it is regarded as the highest scientific award for mathematicians and equivalent to a Nobel Prize (which does not exist in mathematics).
Criteria:
- It recognizes both existing work and the promise of future achievement.
- Therefore, it is awarded to only those outstanding mathematicians who are not over 40 years.
Award ceremony:
- These are awarded every four years by the International Mathematical Union at the International Congress of Mathematicians
  - Up to four medals could be awarded at each Congress.

Medal, cash prize:
- The award carries a cash prize of 15000 Canadian dollars.
- Fields Medal is made of gold, and shows the head of Archimedes (287-212 BC), a Greek mathematician and astronomer.
- These are funded by a trust established by J.C. Fields at the University of Toronto.
Nomenclature:
- It is named after Professor J. C. Fields, a Canadian mathematician who donated funds for establishing the medals.
- Its official name is International medals for outstanding discoveries in mathematics.
Background: The first Fields Medal was awarded in 1936 at the World Congress in Oslo.
2018 Winners (with their institution):

Akshay Venkatesh	Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He is awarded for his research in analytic number theory, homogeneous dynamics, topology and representation theory. In 2014, Manjul Bhargava became the first person of Indian origin to win the Fields Medal.
Alessio Figalli	Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich
Peter Scholze	University of Bonn
Caucher Birkar	University of Cambridge, England

Source : The Hindu

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