A Woman Has Won the ‘Nobel Prize of Math’ for the First Time Ever….
One of the most prestigious math prizes in the world was given to a woman for the first time. Karen Uhlenbeck is the first woman to win the Abel Prize in mathematics. She is an emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin.
The New York Times says that the prize is a recognition of “the fundamental importance of her work in analysis, geometry, and mathematical physics.” It is given by the King of Norway to great mathematicians who have made a big difference in their field. It comes with a prize of about $700,000 in Norwegian kroners. The prize has been given out since 2003, but all of the past winners have been men.
Dr. Uhlenbeck is known for her work on partial differential equations in geometry, gauge theory, and integrable systems. The Times says that she helped start a branch of math called “geometric analysis,” and that her theories of predictive math, which were inspired by soap bubbles, were some of her most important work.
“She did things nobody thought about doing, and after she did, she laid the foundations of a branch of mathematics,” said Sun-Yung Alice Chang, a mathematician at Princeton University who served on the prize committee.
According to the Times, Dr. Uhlenbeck got a text message on Sunday morning telling her about her award for making history. She said she hasn’t decided what to do with the money she won.
“When I came out of church, I noticed that I had a text message from Alice Chang that said, Would I please accept a call from Norway?” she said. “When I got home, I called Norway back and they told me.”
