An American professor at the University of Texas at Austin has won the 6 million kroner ($1 million) Abel Prize for mathematics.
The prize jury praised John Tate as "a prime architect" of number theory, a branch of mathematics that has played a key role in the development of modern computers.
The award citation issued Wednesday says Tate "has truly left a conspicuous imprint on modern mathematics" by advancing "one of (its) most elaborate and sophisticated branches."
Tate's scientific accomplishments span six decades. A wealth of essential mathematical ideas and constructions were initiated by Tate and later named after him, such as the Tate module, Tate curve, Tate cycle, Hodge-Tate decompositions, Tate cohomology, Serre-Tate parameter, Lubin-Tate group, Tate trace, Shafarevich-Tate group and Néron-Tate height.
In 2002-2003, Tate was a recipient of the Wolf Prize in Mathematics. The mathematician turned 85 this month and recently retired from his position as professor, becoming professor emeritus.
The annual Abel Prize was created by the Norwegian government in 2003 and is awarded to candidates who have contributed to the mathematical sciences. The winner is selected by an international committee of five mathematicians.
The prize will be given to Tate at a May 25 ceremony in Oslo.
This report includes information from The Associated Press and msnbc.com.
