Prof. Alexander Beilinson, the David and Mary Winton Green University Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago, is one of two recipients of the prestigious Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences.
He shares this year’s honor jointly with David Kazhdan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for their “huge influence on and profound contributions to representation theory, as well as many other areas of mathematics.”
The Shaw Prize honors individuals who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances in the fields of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences. Each category carries a monetary award of $1.2 million.
Beilinson has done pioneering work in algebraic geometry, geometric representation theory and mathematical physics. His “Beilinson Conjectures” serve as a guiding influence in the field of arithmetic geometry, and he has made substantial contributions to geometric representation theory. He introduced the concept of motivitic sheaves with cohomological properties, sometimes referred the “Beilinson dream” and is regarded as a founder in the field of derived noncommutative algebraic geometry.
Beilinson’s work with UChicago colleague Vladimir Drinfeld, the Harry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service Professor in Mathematics, is critical to geometric Langlands theory. They jointly received the 2018 Wolf Prize in Mathematics.
Established in 2002 under the auspices of the late Run Run Shaw, the Shaw Prize honors individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in academic and scientific research or applications and whose works have resulted in positive and profound impacts on mankind.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart
