Donaldson Receives Nemmers Prize

Northwestern Univer- tial differential equations. Using instantons, solu- sity has announced that tions to the equations of Yang-Mills gauge theory, Simon Donaldson is he gained important insight into the structure of the recipient of the 2008 closed four-manifolds. Gauge theory techniques Nemmers Prize in Math- also enabled him to show the existence of four- ematics, believed to be the manifolds with no smooth structure and others largest monetary award with infinitely many. His work has provided the in the United States for seminal steps for the work of others in the study outstanding achieve- of four-manifolds.” More recently, Donaldson ments in the discipline. Awarded to scholars who has made fundamental contributions to the un- made major contributions derstanding of symplectic manifolds, the phase- to new knowledge or the spaces of classical mechanics, and he shows that Photo courtesy of Imperial College London. College Imperial of courtesy Photo development of signifi- a surprisingly large part of the theory of algebraic Simon Donaldson cant new modes of anal- geometry extends to them. His two books and more ysis, the prize carries a than 60 published papers are widely recognized US$150,000 stipend. for their originality as well as their elegance and Donaldson, Royal Society Research Professor clarity. at Imperial College, London, received the Fred- Northwestern University also announced that eric Esser Nemmers Prize in Mathematics for his Paul R. Milgrom, the Shirley R. and Leonard W. Ely “groundbreaking work in four-dimensional topol- Jr. Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stan- ogy, symplectic geometry and gauge theory, and ford University, has been awarded the Erwin Plein for his remarkable use of ideas from physics to Nemmers Prize in Economics, which also carries a advance pure mathematics.” In connection with US$150,000 stipend. this award, Donaldson is scheduled to deliver public lectures and participate in other scholarly The Nemmers Prizes are made possible through activities at Northwestern during the 2008–09 and bequests from the late Erwin E. Nemmers, a former 2009–10 academic years. member of the Northwestern University faculty, Donaldson received his B.A at Cambridge Uni- and his brother, the late Frederic E. Nemmers, versity and his D.Phil. from Oxford University. both of Milwaukee. The prizes are awarded every In 1986, only three years after completion of his other year. Previous mathematicians to receive doctorate, he was elected a fellow of the Royal the prizes have been Yuri I. Manin (1994), Joseph Society, London. That same year he received B. Keller (1996), John H. Conway (1998), Robert J. the Fields Medal, widely recognized as the most Aumann (1998), Edward Witten (2000), Yakov G. prestigious honor for a mathematician under the Sinai (2002), Mikhael Gromov (2004), and Robert age of 40. He was awarded the Royal Medal of the P. Langlands (2006). Royal Society in 1992, the Crafoord Prize in 1994, Consistent with the terms of the Nemmers be- and the King Faisal Prize in 2006. In 2000 he was quests, the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Econom- elected a foreign associate of the National Acad- ics (named in honor of the Nemmers’ father) and emy of Sciences. “Donaldson’s breakthrough work developed the Frederic Esser Nemmers Prize in Mathematics new techniques in the geometry of four-manifolds (named by Erwin in honor of his brother) are de- and the study of their smooth structures,” said signed to recognize “work of lasting significance” John Franks, professor and chair of mathematics at in the respective disciplines. Northwestern. “His methods have been described as extremely subtle, using difficult nonlinear par- —From a Northwestern University news release

808 Notices of the AMS Volume 55, Number 7