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The Whitehead Prize is awarded yearly by the London Mathematical Society to multiple mathematicians working in the United Kingdom who are at an early stage of their career. The prize is named in memory of homotopy theory pioneer J. H. C. Whitehead.
More specifically, people being considered for the award must be resident in the United Kingdom on 1 January of the award year or must have been educated in the United Kingdom. Also, the candidates must have less than 15 years of work at the postdoctorate level and must not have received any other prizes from the Society.
Since the inception of the prize, no more than two could be awarded per year, but in 1999 this was increased to four "to allow for the award of prizes across the whole of mathematics, including applied mathematics, mathematical physics, and mathematical aspects of computer science".
The Senior Whitehead Prize has similar residence requirements and rules concerning prior prizes, but is intended to recognize more experienced mathematicians.