Nigel J. Hitchin, Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford, is the winner of the 2016 Shaw Prize in the Mathematical Sciences. This international award honours individuals who are currently active in their respective fields and who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances, who have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications, or who in other domains have achieved excellence.
Professor Hitchin was awarded the prize for "his far-reaching contributions to geometry, representation theory and theoretical physics. The fundamental and elegant concepts and techniques that he has introduced have had wide impact and are of lasting importance."
Professor Hitchin is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a long-standing member of the London Mathematical Society, serving as its President from 1994-1996. He was also awarded the London Mathematical Society’s Pólya Prize in 2002. He gave a keynote talk at the launch of the Society’s 150th Anniversary celebrations at Goldmiths’ Hall, London, on Creativity, Curiosity and Discovery where he explored the age-old question of whether mathematics is invented or discovered.
The Shaw Prize is an annual award first presented by the Shaw Prize Foundation in 2004. Established in 2002 in Hong Kong, it honours people working in the fields of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences. The 2016 Shaw Prizes are worth US$1.2m to each winner.
Presentation of the Shaw Prize, awarded annually by the Shaw Prize Foundation, will be at a ceremony in September in Hong Kong.
The LMS President, Simon Tavaré, said "Nigel Hitchin is of one of the most influential geometers of our time. The impact of his work in differential and algebraic geometry is immense and has stimulated development in a wide variety of areas including mathematical physics. The LMS is delighted that Nigel has been honoured with this justly deserved award."
Further information is available at the Shaw Prize website
