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The Abel Prize (Norwegian: Abelprisen) is a Norwegian prize awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modelled after the Nobel Prizes. It comes with a monetary award of 7.5 million Norwegian Kroner (NOK).
The Abel Prize's history dates back to 1899, when its establishment was proposed by the Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie when he learned that Alfred Nobel's plans for annual prizes would not include a prize in mathematics. In 1902, King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway indicated his willingness to finance a mathematics prize to complement the Nobel Prizes, but the establishment of the prize was prevented by the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. It took almost a century before the prize was finally established by the Government of Norway in 2001, and it was specifically intended "to give the mathematicians their own equivalent of a Nobel Prize." The laureates are selected by the Abel Committee, the members of which are appointed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
The award ceremony takes place in the Aula of the University of Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded between 1947 and 1989. The Abel Prize board has also established an Abel symposium, administered by the Norwegian Mathematical Society.
In 2019 Karen Uhlenbeck became the first woman to win the Abel Prize, with the award committee citing "the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics.
Laureates
- 2024 Michel Pierre Talagrand (France) (b. 1952) "For his groundbreaking contributions to probability theory and functional analysis, with outstanding applications in mathematical physics and statistics."
- 2023 Luis Caffarelli (Argentina-USA) (b. 1948) "For his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations including free-boundary problems and the Monge–Ampère equation."
- 2022 Dennis Parnell Sullivan (United States) (b. 1941) "For his groundbreaking contributions to topology in its broadest sense, and in particular its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspects.
- 2021 László Lovász (Hungary) (b. 1948) and Avi Wigderson (Israel/USA) (b. 1956), "for their foundational contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, and their leading role in shaping them into central fields of modern mathematics."
- 2020 Hillel (Harry) Furstenberg (Israel/USA) (b. 1935) and Grigory Margulis (Russia/USA) (b. 1946), "For pioneering the use of methods from probability and dynamics in group theory, number theory and combinatorics."
- 2019 Karen Uhlenbeck (USA) (b. 1942), "For her pioneering achievements in geometric partial differential equations, gauge theory and integrable systems, and for the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics."
- 2018 Robert P. Langlands (Canada/USA) (b. 1936), "For his visionary program connecting representation theory to number theory."
- 2017 Yves Meyer (France) (b. 1939). "For his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets."
- 2016 Sir Andrew Wiles KBE FRS (UK) (b. 1953), "For his stunning proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by way of the modularity conjecture for semistable elliptic curves, opening a new era in number theory."
- 2015 John Forbes Nash, Jr. (USA) (1928-2015), and Louis Nirenberg (Canada/USA) (1925-2020), "For striking and seminal contributions to the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations and its applications to geometric analysis."
- 2014 Yakov G. Sinai (Russia/USA) (b. 1935), "For his fundamental contributions to dynamical systems, ergodic theory, and mathematical physics."
- 2013 Pierre Deligne (Belgium) (b. 1944), "For seminal contributions to algebraic geometry and for their transformative impact on number theory, representation theory, and related fields."
- 2012 Endre Szemeredi (Hungary/USA) (b. 1940), "For his fundamental contributions to discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science, and in recognition of the profound and lasting impact of these contributions on additive number theory and ergodic theory."
- 2011 John Milnor (USA) (b. 1931), "For pioneering discoveries in topology, geometry, and algebra."
- 2010 John Tate (USA) (1925-2019), "For his vast and lasting impact on the theory of numbers."
- 2009 Mikhail Gromov (Russia/France) (b. 1943), "For his revolutionary contributions to geometry."
- 2008 John G. Thompson (USA) (b. 1932), and Jacques Tits (Belgium/France) (1930-2021), "For their profound achievements in algebra and in particular for shaping modern group theory."
- 2007 Sir S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan FRS (India/USA) (b. 1940), "For his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviation."
- 2006 Lennart Carleson (Sweden) (b. 1928), "For his profound and seminal contributions to harmonic analysis and the theory of smooth dynamical systems."
- 2005 Peter Lax (Hungary/USA) (b. 1926), "For his groundbreaking contributions to the theory and application of partial differential equations and to the computation of their solutions."
- 2004 Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS (UK) (1929-2019) and Isadore Singer (USA) (1924-2021), "For their discovery and proof of the index theorem, bringing together topology, geometry and analysis, and their outstanding role in building new bridges between mathematics and theoretical physics."
- 2003 Jean-Pierre Serre (France) (b. 1926), "For playing a key role in shaping the modern form of many parts of mathematics, including topology, algebraic geometry and number theory."