American professor is first woman to be awarded top math prize
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck won the Abel Prize for mathematics. (The University of Texas at Austin)
A retired University of Texas at Austin mathematics professor is the first women to win the Abel Prize, described as the field's equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck was announced as this year's winner by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo. The prize comes with a monetary award of six million Norwegian kroner, worth approximately $700,000.
The jury cited Keskulla Uhlenbeck's "fundamental work in geometric analysis and gauge theory which has dramatically changed the mathematical landscape." It also praised her as "a strong advocate for gender equality in science and mathematics."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I can hardly believe it, and I am deeply appreciative,” Uhlenbeck said in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman on Tuesday. “Many thanks to the Norwegian Academy and the institutions and people who have contributed to what has been so far a full and interesting life. I hope that my selection for this award demonstrates that a great variety of individuals are capable of contributing to mathematics at the highest level."
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UT-Austin President Greg Fenves posted a video message to Twitter congratulating Uhlenbeck, who retired from the university in 2014.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"For over three decades, you've made the University of Texas proud with your outstanding work in the field of mathematics," Fenves said. " ... Today we celebrate the impact of your research not only on the field of mathematics but generations of students and mathematicians around the world."
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Uhlenbeck, who is currently a visiting senior research scholar in mathematics at Princeton University, is to receive the prize from Norway's King Harald V in a formal ceremony on May 21. An Ohio native who grew up in New Jersey, Uhlenbeck graduated from the University of Michigan and received a Ph.D. from Brandeis University.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Abel Prize was first awarded in 2003 to honor the 19th-century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.