Five Winners Receive Inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics

PR57146

SAN FRANCISCO, June 23, /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

- Art Levinson Steps Down as Chair of Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Foundation, Succeeded by Cori Bargmann

- Online Nominations For 2015 Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics and

Life Sciences are Open Through June 30, 2014

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announces five winners of the inaugural

Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics:

Simon Donaldson, Stony Brook University and Imperial College London, for the

new revolutionary invariants of 4-dimensional manifolds and for the study of

the relation between stability in algebraic geometry and in global differential

geometry, both for bundles and for Fano varieties.

Maxim Kontsevich, Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, for work making a

deep impact in a vast variety of mathematical disciplines, including algebraic

geometry, deformation theory, symplectic topology, homological algebra and

dynamical systems.

Jacob Lurie, Harvard University, for his work on the foundations of higher

category theory and derived algebraic geometry; for the classification of fully

extended topological quantum field theories; and for providing a

moduli-theoretic interpretation of elliptic cohomology.

Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles, for numerous breakthrough

contributions to harmonic analysis, combinatorics, partial differential

equations and analytic number theory.

Richard Taylor, Institute for Advanced Study, for numerous breakthrough results

in the theory of automorphic forms, including the Taniyama-Weil conjecture, the

local Langlands conjecture for general linear groups, and the Sato-Tate

conjecture.

The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics was launched by Mark Zuckerberg and Yuri

Milner at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony last December. It aims to recognize

major advances in the field, honor the world's best mathematicians, support

their future endeavors and communicate the excitement of mathematics to general

public.

The laureates will be presented with their trophies and $3 million each at the

Breakthrough Prize ceremony in November.

All five recipients of the Prize have agreed to serve on the Selection

Committee, responsible for choosing subsequent winners of the prize from the

pool of contenders nominated by the mathematics community. From 2015 onwards,

one Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics will be awarded every year.

Mark Zuckerberg said: "Mathematics is essential for driving human progress and

innovation in this century. This year's Breakthrough Prize winners have made

huge contributions to the field and we're excited to celebrate their efforts."

Yuri Milner commented: "Mathematics is the most fundamental of the sciences -

the language they are all written in. The best mathematical minds benefit us

all by expanding the sphere of human knowledge."

Online Nominations

Online nominations are now open for the 2015 Breakthrough Prizes in Life

Sciences and Fundamental Physics, and can be submitted until June 30. The

nomination form and the rules are available at http://www.breakthroughprize.org.

Any individual can submit an online nomination but self-nominations are not

allowed.

Each year, up to six Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences are awarded. The

prize honors transformative advances toward understanding living systems and

extending human life. One prize per year is for work contributing to the

understanding of Parkinson's disease. Each laureate receives $3 million.

The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognizes major insights into

the deepest questions of the Universe. The winner receives $3 million, and the

prize can be split between several scientists.

Art Levinson steps down as Chairman of Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Foundation, succeeded by Cori Bargmann

Art Levinson has announced his retirement from the chairmanship of the

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation Board. Levinson, who has steered

the Foundation from its inception in 2013, is stepping down due to the time

requirements of his work as CEO of Calico. He will be succeeded by Cori

Bargmann, a leading neurobiologist at Rockefeller University and one of the

inaugural winners of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

Art Levinson remarked: "It's been a real privilege, as well as a lot of fun, to

help get the Breakthrough Prize up and running. The prize has already surpassed

our expectations, and I'm looking forward to seeing it develop as it continues

its vital work bringing the workings of life and the fight against disease to

the forefront of public consciousness."

Cori Bargmann said: "I'm honored to have the chance to chair the Foundation -

especially to take over from Art, who's been inspirational. Thanks in no small

part to him, the Breakthrough Prize has become a significant landmark in the

world of science. If you think someone in your field deserves it, I'd encourage

you to submit an online nomination now."

About the Breakthrough Prizes

The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Jack Ma

and Cathy Zhang, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.

The prizes aim to celebrate scientists and generate excitement about the

pursuit of science as a career.

Laureates of each prize are chosen by its respective Selection Committee,

comprising previous recipients of the prize.

The Selection Committee for the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

includes:

Nima Arkani-Hamed

Lyn Evans

Fabiola Gianotti

Michael B. Green

Alan Guth

Stephen Hawking

Joseph Incandela

Alexei Kitaev

Maxim Kontsevich

Andrei Linde

Juan Maldacena

Alexander Polyakov

Nathan Seiberg

Ashoke Sen

John H. Schwarz

Edward Witten

The Selection Committee for the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

includes:

James P. Allison

Cornelia I. Bargmann

David Botstein

Lewis C. Cantley

Hans Clevers

Titia de Lange

Mahlon R. DeLong

Napoleone Ferrara

Michael N. Hall

Eric S. Lander

Robert Langer

Richard P. Lifton

Charles L. Sawyers

Alexander Varshavsky

Bert Vogelstein

Robert A. Weinberg

Shinya Yamanaka

Additional information on the Breakthrough Prizes is available at

http://www.breakthroughprize.org.

For additional inquiries, contact Media@breakthroughprize.org.

Contact:

Leonid Solovyev

Media@breakthroughprize.org

+44(0)75-909-76-334

Source: Breakthrough Prize Foundation