Endre Szemeredi wins Abel Prize 2012
Endre Szemerédi (born August 21, 1940) is a Hungarian mathematician, working in the field of combinatorics and theoretical computer science. He has been the State of New Jersey Professor of computer science at Rutgers University since 1986.
Szemerédi has won numerous prizes in mathematics and science, including, most notably, the Abel Prize in 2012. He has also made a number of key discoveries in combinatorics and computer science, including Szemerédi’s theorem, the Szemerédi regularity lemma, the Erdős–Szemerédi theorem, the Hajnal–Szemerédi theorem and the Szemerédi–Trotter theorem.
The Abel Prize citation reads:
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.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2012 to Endre Szemerédi, Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest and Department of Computer Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA. He receives the Abel Prize “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”, to quote the Abel committee.
Discrete mathematics is the study of structures such as graphs, sequences, permutations, and geometric configurations. The mathematics of such structures forms the foundation of theoretical computer science and information theory. Szemerédi was one of the first to realize the importance of theoretical computer science. He has also made deep, important, and influential contributions to many other branches of mathematics.
The President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Nils Christian Stenseth, announced the winner of the 2012 Abel Prize at the Academy in Oslo today, 21 March. Endre Szemerédi will receive the Abel Prize from His Majesty King Harald at an award ceremony in Oslo on 22 May. 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 EUR 800,000 or USD 1 million).
The Abel committee’s citation and the prize winner’s biography are available in the following languages: Hungarian, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. The documents will be published on the Abel Prize website http://www.abelprize.no/ together with more information about this year’s Abel prize winner.
Sources: ICM 2014 Website, Wikipedia, Abel Prize Website