In March 2025, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters announced that renowned Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara (78 year old) has been awarded the 2025 Abel Prize in Oslo, Norway. He won this award for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory, specifically for the development of the theory of D-modules and discovery of crystal bases.
- With this, Masaki Kashiwara becomes the 1st Japanese person to be awarded the Abel Prize, which is also known as ‘Nobel Prize for Mathematics’ and 28th recipient of this prestigious prize in the field of mathematics.
- Norway’s King Harald V will officially present the Abel Prize to Masaki Kashiwara during an award ceremony which is scheduled to be held on May 20, 2025 in Oslo, Norway.
Some of his Notable work:
i.During his master thesis in 1970, Kashiwara under the guidance of Mikio Sato, developed the foundations of analytic D-module theory, a new basis for studying systems of Linear Partial Differential Equations (LPDEs) with algebraic analysis.
ii.In 1990, Kashiwara developed the theory of crystal bases of quantum groups, which are algebraic objects with their origins in lattice models in statistical mechanics.
- He used crystal bases to represent quantum groups as directed graphs, and created a combinatorial tool that enabled the solutions of many problems in representation theory.
About Masaki Kashiwara:
i.He completed his philosophy of doctor (Ph.D) at Kyoto University in 1974, following which he was appointed Assistant Professor at Nagoya University.
ii.Later, he worked as a researcher at (United States of America, USA)-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1977-78.
iii.At present, he is a Professor Emeritus at the Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences (RIMS), Kyoto University in Japan.
iv.Since 2019, he has been working as a Program-specific professor at the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study (KUIAS), specially established as a hub for the world’s most advanced research.
iv.Kashiwara has received various national and international awards/accolades for his notable work in the field of mathematics like: Iyanaga prize (1981), Asahi prize (1988), Japan Academy award (1988), Fujihara award (2008).
- He was honoured with Chern Medal presented by Berlin (Germany)-based International Mathematical Union (IMU) at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
About Abel Prize:
i.The Abel Prize was established in 2002 by the Norwegian Parliament(The Storting) in the honor of Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel(1802-1829).
ii.The recipient of the award receives a cash prize of 7.5 million Norwegian Krone (NoK) which is equivalent to USD 710,000, and a glass plaque designed by Norwegian artist Henrik Haugan.
iii.The Prize is awarded annually by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, on behalf of the Ministry of Education (Norway).
iv.The recipients are selected by an expert committee appointed by the Academy under the guidance of IMU and Helsinki (Finland)-based European Mathematical Society (EMS).
v.In 2024, French mathematician Michel Pierre Talagrand, won the Abel Prize for his contributions in probability theory which involved understanding random phenomenon particularly, Gaussian process.
