Abel Prize

The American mathematician invented entire new ways to understand shapes and spaces.

Avi Wigderson and László Lovász won for their work developing complexity theory and graph theory, respectively, and for connecting the two fields.

A founder of modern geometric analysis who produced “some of the most dramatic advances in mathematics in the last 40 years,” Uhlenbeck is the first woman to be awarded this top honor.

Generations of researchers have pursued his “Langlands program,” which seeks to create a grand unified theory of mathematics.

The French mathematician was cited “for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets.”