New International Award for Mathematician Announced

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, August 19, 2002

New International Award for Mathematician Announced

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The Abel Prize, a new annual award for mathematicians will be issued next June, Professor E. Stormer, of Oslo University, announced Sunday in Shanghai at the 14th General Assembly of the International Mathematical Union.

Professor Stormer, one of the five members of The Abel Committee, said the prize, worth nearly 800,000 US dollars, will be awarded each June in Oslo, capital of Norway, and he expects the International Mathematical Union to nominate a candidate for the new prize.

The prize, named after the Norwegian mathematics genius N. H. Abel, will be awarded to scientists who have made significant contributions to the mathematical field regardless of their age.

The purpose of the prize is to raise the social position of mathematical research and to stimulate the interest of the talented young mathematicians in this field.

Before the establishment of The Abel Price, The Fields Price, which is worth 4,000 US dollars and awarded every four years, was considered the highest prize in the international mathematical field. Candidates must not be older than 40 and so far 42 mathematicians have received the prize since it was set up in 1936.

Professor Stormer said the nomination process has not been settled but The Abel Committee has the right to nominate the finalcandidates to the prize committee even though each mathematician is eligible to make recommendations to The Abel Committee.

The five members of The Abel Committee are appointed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (NASL). Two of the members will come from NASL and the other three will come from TheRoyal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, The Norwegian Council for Higher Education and Oslo University.

In order to commemorate N. H. Abel, who died of tuberculosis at27, the Norwegian government early this year set up the Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund worth 22 million US dollars. The fund will be used for the prize for the Abel laureate, events in conjunction with the presentation of the prize, and events targeting the mathematical education of children and young people.

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