Since the Nobel Prizes were first awarded in 1901, they have honored the same scientific categories outlined in Alfred Nobel’s will: physiology or medicine; physics; and chemistry. Despite many arguments to expand these fields as science has become increasingly interdisciplinary, the categories remain unchanged, as they will this week when the prizes are announced on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
In place of the Nobels, a trove of prestigious awards has emerged to honor work in other fields.
Below are some of the prizes that scientists and mathematicians can aspire to win, along with their most recent recipients.
The Abel Prize for Mathematics
Established in 2002, the Abel Prize awards 7.5 million Norwegian kroner, or about $750,000, annually to a mathematician with “pioneering scientific achievements” in the field. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel and granted by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.
In March, Masaki Kashiwara at Kyoto University in Japan became this year’s Abel laureate for highly abstract work that combined algebra, geometry and differential equations.
Only one woman has won the Abel Prize: Karen Uhlenbeck, a University of Texas mathematician, in 2019 for her work on geometric analysis.
Another prestigious prize in mathematics is the Fields Medal, awarded every four years. But unlike the Abel Prize and the Nobels, this honor is bestowed only on those under age 40.
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The post Beyond the Nobel Prizes Is a World of Scientific Awards appeared first on New York Times.
