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Abel Prize to John T. Tate for path-breaking work
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2010 to John Torrence Tate, University of Texas at Austin, for his vast and lasting impact on the theory of numbers. The President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Nils Christian Stenseth, announced the name of the 2010 Abel Laureate at the Academy in Oslo today, 24. March. John Tate will receive the Abel Prize from His Majesty King Harald at an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, May 25.
The Abel Prize recognizes contributions of extraordinary depth and influence to the mathematical sciences and has been awarded annually since 2003. It carries a cash award of NOK 6,000,000 (close to € 730,000 or US$ 1 mill.)
The theory of numbers stretches from the mysteries of prime numbers to the ways in which we store, transmit, and secure information in modern computers. Over the past century it has developed into one of the most elaborate and sophisticated branches of mathematics, interacting profoundly with other key areas. John Tate is a prime architect of this development.
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John Tate's scientific accomplishments span six decades. A wealth of essential mathematical ideas and constructions were initiated by Tate and later named after him, such as the Tate module, Tate curve, Tate cycle, Hodge-Tate decompositions, Tate cohomology, Serre-Tate parameter, Lubin-Tate group, Tate trace, Shafarevich-Tate group, Néron-Tate height, to mention just a few.
According to the Abel committee, "Many of the major lines of research in algebraic number theory and arithmetic geometry are only possible because of the incisive contributions and illuminating insights of John Tate. He has truly left a conspicuous imprint on modern mathematics".
John Tate has received many awards and honours. As early as 1956, he was awarded the American Mathematical Society's Cole Prize for outstanding contributions to number theory. In 1995 Tate received the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the American Mathematical Society. Tate was honoured "for his creation of fundamental concepts in algebraic number theory" when he shared the Wolf Prize in Mathematics with Mikio Sato in 2002/2003. He was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1962 in Stockholm and again in 1970 in Nice.
John Tate was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1969. He was named a foreign member of the French Académie des sciences in 1992 and an honorary member of the London Mathematical Society in 1999.
The Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund was established in 2002 to award the Abel Prize for outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics. The Abel Prize was awarded for the first time in 2003.
The prize is awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The choice of Abel Laureate is based on the recommendation of the Abel Committee, which consists of five internationally recognized mathematicians.
John Torrence Tate has done path-breaking work that has greatly influenced modern mathematics. Photo: Charlie Fondville.
