Belgian-born Deligne wins 'Nobel for Mathematics'

Belgian-born mathematician Pierre Deligne was Wednesday awarded the six-million-kroner ($1 million) Abel Prize for mathematics, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters said.

Deligne was cited for "seminal contributions to algebraic geometry and for their transformative impact on number theory, representation theory, and related fields."

The 68-year-old has contributed to finding connections between various fields of mathematics and his research has resulted in key discoveries and concepts named after him, including the Deligne conjecture, the academy said.

Algebraic geometry concerns the study of the relationship between geometry and algebra.

Deligne has won numerous honours in recognition of his work. In 2006 he was named a viscount by King Albert II of Belgium. The Belgian postal services also issued a stamp honouring him.

The prize, which is dubbed "the Nobel for mathematics," is to be presented at an award ceremony scheduled for May 21.

Deligne is professor emeritus in the school of mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in New Jersey, in the United States. He joined the private institute, which was founded in 1930, in 1984.

As a young boy, Deligne became interested in mathematics, and already at age 12 read his older brother's university books on the subject.

He received his PhD in mathematics at the University of Brussels in 1968. Two years later he became the youngest permanent member of the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, located near Paris.

The Abel Prize, which was first awarded in 2003, was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Niels Henrik Abel, Norway's greatest mathematician.