Prof. David Kazhdan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has received the distinguished Shaw Prize on his contributions to the field of mathematics, the first Israeli to ever win the prize.

Kazhdan is one of two recipients to win the prize; he shared the Shaw Prize of $1.2 million with another researcher from the University of Chicago, Alexander Beilinson. They won the prize for their “huge influence on and profound contributions to representation theory, as well as many other areas of mathematics.”

The Shaw Prize honors individuals who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances in the fields of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences.

“This is a great honor for me. Of course, I was very happy when I heard, and I’m more than happy to receive the award. But I didn’t do anything, I’ve just engaged in math my whole life – and not for my own sake. I feel as though I’m in the good company of scholars and mathematicians who have received the award thus far,” said Kazhdan.

Kazhdan currently serves as a member of the National Academy of Israel and of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.

Read the entire source article at Jpost