Michael Aschbacher, the Shaler Arthur Hanisch Professor of
Mathematics, will share the 2012 Wolf Prize in mathematics. The
award recognizes his role in classifying types of mathematical
objects called finite simple groups. According to the prize
citation, "His impact on the theory of finite groups is
extraordinary in its breadth, depth, and beauty."
"The classification of finite simple groups is one of the
crowning achievements of modern mathematics," says Hirosi Ooguri,
the Fred Kavli Professor of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics at
Caltech. "It's wonderful that Michael is recognized as the
principal architect of this work."
Aschbacher will share the prize, which includes $100,000, with
Luis Caffarelli at the University of Texas, Austin, who was
recognized for work on partial differential equations. They will
receive the award from Israeli President Shimon Peres at a ceremony
on May 13 at the Knesset in Jerusalem.
"Receiving an award such as the Wolf Prize is of course
personally very satisfying," Aschbacher says. "The finite simple
groups are the building blocks of finite group theory, playing a
role somewhat analogous to that of prime numbers in arithmetic. As
a result, the classification theorem is not only a beautiful and
natural result, but it's also very useful."
Since 1978, The Wolf Prize is awarded annually in the fields of
agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics, and the
arts. Among this year's winners is singer Placido Domingo. Past
winners have included notable names such as Stephen Hawking in
physics, violinist Isaac Stern and architect Frank Gehry in the
arts. Previous winners from Caltech include Harry Gray, Ahmed
Zewail, and Rudy Marcus in chemistry; Alexander Varshavsky, and the
late Seymour Benzer, Edward Lewis, and Roger Sperry in
medicine.
Aschbacher has recently garnered several awards for his work on
finite simple groups. He was awarded the 2012 Leroy P. Steele Prize
for Mathematical Exposition, and last year, he won the Rolf Schock
Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He also received
the Cole Prize in Algebra and is a member of the National Academy
of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
