A selection of the many prizes awarded to mathematicians throughout the world is given below for reference, with links to other sites with more information where available. All links open in a new window.
For further information on any of these prizes please follow the links provided or contact the awarding body directly.
Suggestions for additions to this list should be sent to prizes@lms.ac.uk
Abel Prize
Awarded annually by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters to an outstanding mathematician
Bôcher Memorial Prize
Awarded every three years for a notable research memoir in analysis that has appeared during the past six years in a recognized North American journal or was authored by a member of the American Mathematical Society.
Cantor Medal
Awarded by the Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung at most every second year during the yearly meetings of the society. The prize winners are mathematicians who are associated with the German language.
Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize for Applications of Mathematics
Awarded jointly by the International Mathematical Union and the German Mathematical Society for
- mathematical contributions that have found significant practical applications outside of mathematics, or
- achievements that made the application of mathematical methods to areas outside of mathematics possible in an innovative way, e.g., via new modeling techniques or the design and implementation of algorithms.
The Chern Medal is awarded every 4 years on the occasion of the International Congress of Mathematicians to an individual whose accomplishments warrant the highest level of recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of mathematics.
Clay Research Award
Awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute to recognize major breakthroughs in mathematical research.
Cole Prize
The Cole Prize is one of two prizes awarded to mathematicians by the American Mathematical Society, one for an outstanding contribution to algebra, and the other for an outstanding contribution to number theory.
Although eligibility for the prize is not fully international, they are awarded to members of the Society and those who publish outstanding work in leading American journals.
Germund Dahlquist Prize
Awarded by SIAM to a young scientist (normally under 45) for original contributions to fields associated with Germund Dahlquist, especially the numerical solution of differential equations and numerical methods for scientific computing.
EMS Prizes
Any European mathematician who has not reached his or her 35th birthday on 30 June of the year of the award, and who has not previously received the prize, is eligible for an EMS Prize at the (quadrennial) European Congress of Mathematics. A total of ten prizes will is awarded at each ECM. The maximum age may be increased by up to three years in the case of an individual with a ‘broken career pattern’.
Euler Medal
Awarded annually by the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications to mathematicians with a distinguished lifetime contribution to combinatorial research who are still active in research.
Erdös Award
Awarded by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions to mathematicians who have contributed to mathematics enrichment in their own countries or internationally.
Fermat Prize
Awarded biennially by the Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier for research works in fields where the contributions of Pierre de Fermat have been decisive – Statements of Variational Principles, Foundations of Probability and Analytical Geometry, and Number Theory. The spirit of the prize is focused on rewarding the results of research accessible to the greatest number of professional mathematicians within these fields.
Ferran Sunyer i Balaguer Prize
Awarded for a mathematical monograph of an expository nature presenting the latest developments in an active area of research in Mathematics, in which the applicant has made important contributions.
Fields Medal
Awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union.
Fulkerson Prize
Awarded for outstanding papers in the area of discrete mathematics is sponsored jointly by the Mathematical Programming Society (MPS) and the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Up to three awards are presented at each (triennial) International Symposium of the MPS.
Awarded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy, for a scientific paper published in the society's scientific journals, preference being given to a paper containing a discovery, either in mathematics or earth sciences.
Ralph E. Kleinman Prize
Awarded by SIAM to one individual for outstanding research, or other contributions, that bridge the gap between mathematics and applications. Work that uses high-level mathematics and/or invents new mathematical tools to solve applied problems from engineering, science, and technology is particularly appropriate. The value of the work will be measured by the quality of the mathematics and its impact on the application. Each prize may be given either for a single notable achievement or for a collection of such achievements.
The Leelavati Prize, sponsored by Infosys, is intended to accord high recognition and great appreciation of the International Mathematical Union (on behalf of the international mathematical community) and Infosys of outstanding contributions for increasing public awareness of mathematics as an intellectual discipline and the crucial role it plays in diverse human endeavors.
Leroy P. Steele Prizes
Three prizes are awarded annually by the American Mathematical Society, for distinguished research work and writing in the field of mathematics.
Nevanlinna Prize
Awarded every four years by the IMU for major contributions to mathematical aspects of computer science.
Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics
Awarded jointly by the AMS and SIAM every three years to for an outstanding contribution to "applied mathematics in the highest and broadest sense".
Ostrowski Prize
Awarded biennially by an international jury from the universities of Basel, Jerusalem, Waterloo and the academies of Denmark and the Netherlands for outstanding achievements in pure mathematics and the foundations of numerical mathematics.
Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
Awarded by the American Mathematical Society for notable research in geometry or topology.
George Pólya Prize
Not to be confused with the LMS award of the same name, this prize is given every two years by SIAM, alternately in two categories: (1) for a notable application of combinatorial theory; (2) for a notable contribution in another area of interest to George Pólya such as approximation theory, complex analysis, number theory, orthogonal polynomials, probability theory, or mathematical discovery and learning.
The prize is broadly intended to recognize specific recent work. Prize committees may occasionally consider an award for cumulative work, but such awards should be rare.
Ramanujan Prize
There are two awards that each go by the name "Ramanujan Prize": the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize and the ICTP Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries. Both started in 2005 and like the Fields medal have an age limit.
The first, instituted by the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology, Research Academy (SASTRA) based in South India, is to be given annually to a mathematician not exceeding the age of 32 for outstanding contributions to an area of mathematics influenced by S. Ramanujan (who lived only up to 32).
The second award, given by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) based in Italy, is funded by the Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund (which gives the Abel prize). Awarded annually to a researcher less than the age of 45 who comes from a developing country and has conducted outstanding research in any branch of the mathematical sciences also in a developing country.
W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize
Awarded by SIAM for research in, or other contributions to, the broadly defined areas of differential equations and control theory. Each prize may be given either for a single notable achievement or a collection of such achievements.
Sacks Prize
Awarded by the Association for Symbolic Logic for the most outstanding doctoral dissertation in mathematical logic. It is an international prize, with no restriction on the nationality of the candidate or the university where the doctorate is granted. The deadline for receipt of nominations usually is September 30 each year.
Schock Prize
Awarded biennially by committees of three of the Swedish Royal Academies.
Shaw Prize
The Shaw Prize consists of three annual awards: the Prize in Astronomy, the Prize in Life Science and Medicine, and the Prize in Mathematical Sciences. Each prize carries a monetary award of US$1 million. The Shaw Prize is an international award managed and administered by The Shaw Prize Foundation based in Hong Kong.
Whittaker Prize
Awarded by the Edinburgh Mathematical Society for Prizes for published work of particular merit in pure mathematics, applied mathematics, mathematical statistics or mathematical physics. A candidate for a prize must be under 45 unless special circumstances apply, and must either be a graduate of a Scottish University and/or have been engaged in postgraduate research in Scotland for at least three years.
Sylvester Medal
Awarded triennially by the Royal Society for the encouragement of mathematics research.
Wolf Prize
Awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation.
European Latsis Prize
Awarded annually by the Latsis Foundation through the ESF to a scientist or research group in recognition of outstanding and innovative contributions in a selected field of research. The research field for the 2012 Prize is mathematics.