Dennis Sullivan Wins 2014 Balzan Prize for Mathematics

Distinguished Professor Dennis Sullivan, who holds the Albert Einstein Chair in Science (Mathematics), has been awarded the 2014 Balzan Prize. Half of the prestigious $800,000 award will finance research projects by young scholars and scientists.

Sullivan was selected "for his major contributions to topology and the theory of dynamical systems, opening new perspectives for generations to come, [and] for his exceptional results in many fields of mathematics, such as geometry, the theory of Kleinian groups, analysis and number theory," according to a statement by the International Balzan Prize Foundation.

He is only the eighth winner in the Mathematics category since the award was established in 1961. Past Balzan Prize recipients have included Pope John XXIII (1962), Mother Teresa (1978), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (1996). Categories for the four prizes rotate every year.

Established in 1957, the Balzan Foundation seeks to recognize "the most outstanding initiatives of peace and brotherhood among peoples and foster their growth in the scientific and cultural world."

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano will confer the award on November 20 in Milan.