The 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics has been awarded to Ian Agol "for spectacular contributions to low dimensional topology and geometric group theory, including work on the solutions of the tameness, virtual Haken and virtual fibering conjectures." Agol is a professor of mathematics at University of California, Berkeley, currently on sabbatical at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. (Photo of Ian Agol courtesy UC Berkeley.)
In accepting the award Agol remarked, "I would like to acknowledge my teachers who encouraged my interest in mathematics. This includes my doctoral advisor Mike Freedman whose example encouraged me to be fearless—to work on hard problems, and to not be afraid to admit what I do not know. I would also like to acknowledge the many mathematicians whose work mine builds on, and to which I've added only a small amount.
Their vision encouraged me to go places mathematically that I would not have considered otherwise. I will only single out Daniel Groves and Jason Manning, with whom it has been a pleasure to collaborate. Finally I'd like to thank my family, especially my wife Michelle for her support, and my mother Maureen for all the sacrifices she made to get the best education for my brother and me."
"Agol studies the topology and geometry of three-dimensional spaces, such as our own universe, and has won acclaim for solving five major conjectures by one of the giants in the field, the late William Thurston, a UC Berkeley alum,"
notes the UC Berkeley news release.
The award is US$3 million. As have all five past math laureates, Agol plans to give $100,000 of his prize winnings to support graduate students from developing countries through the Breakout Graduate Fellowships administered by the International Mathematical Union.
The Breakthrough Prize was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Yuri Milner. "Breakthrough Prize laureates are making fundamental discoveries about the universe, life and the mind," Yuri Milner said. "These fields of investigation are advancing at an exponential pace, yet the biggest questions remain to be answered." This award ceremony was broadcast live on National Geographic Channel November 8, 2015. See video clips, including a video of Agol talking about "The Beauty of Mathematics."
The New Horizons in Mathematics Prize is awarded to promising junior researchers who have already produced important work in mathematics. The 2016 awards of $100,000 were given to Larry Guth, MIT, "for ingenious and surprising solutions to long standing open problems in symplectic geometry, Riemannian geometry, harmonic analysis, and combinatorial geometry," and to André Arroja Neves,Imperial College London, "for outstanding contributions to several areas of differential geometry, including work on scalar curvature, geometric flows, and his solution with Codá Marques of the 50-year-old Willmore Conjecture."
The third New Horizons in Mathematics Prize, recognizing Peter Scholze of Bonn University, was declined.
See the Breakthrough Prize news release and media coverage: "By Solving the Mysteries of Shape-Shifting Spaces, Mathematician Wins $3-Million Prize," by Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American, 8 November 2015, and "Breakthrough Prizes Give Top Scientists the Rock Star Treatment," The New York Times, 8 November 2015; posts on Reuters and other newswires; coverage in San Jose Mercury News, Science, Time, Forbes, Spiegel Online and news media worldwide; and tweets using hashtag #BreakthroughPrize during and since the televised award ceremony.