Masaki Kashiwara, professor emeritus at Kyoto University’s Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, on Wednesday became the first Japanese recipient of the Abel Prize, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for mathematics,” for his groundbreaking work in the field, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters said.
Kashiwara, a 78-year-old project professor at the institute, was recognized “for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory,” among other achievements, according to the academy.
“I feel that my work of more than 50 years is well appreciated,” Kashiwara said in an online interview connecting Kyoto and Oslo.
Photo shows Kyoto University professor Masaki Kashiwara. (Peter Badge/Typos1/The Abel Prize/Kyodo)
Born in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, Kashiwara earned a master’s degree from the University of Tokyo before obtaining a Ph.D. from Kyoto University. He later served as an associate professor at Nagoya University and has been a program-specific professor at the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study since 2019.
Under the guidance of his mentor, Mikio Sato, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University, Kashiwara developed the theory of D-modules for his master’s thesis, a framework that has become a fundamental tool in many branches of mathematics.
Kashiwara and his colleagues proved the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence, a major problem in mathematics for many years, for holonomic D-modules.
He has made surprising connections and achieved spectacular results in representation theory and also introduced several fundamental new concepts, the academy said.
Other notable achievements by Kashiwara include the creation of a crystal basis theory. He has received numerous honors, such as the Chern Medal in 2018 and, along with his co-researchers, the Frontiers of Science Award in 2023 and 2024, according to the academy.
The Abel Prize award ceremony will be held in Norway on May 20, with Kashiwara expected to receive prize money of 7.5 million Norwegian krone ($714,000).
The prize was established in 2002 in connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel, a pioneering Norwegian mathematician.
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