In 1994, Andrew Wiles shocked
the math world when he published proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, which is a
problem that had bewildered scholars for more than 300 years. On Tuesday, the
62-year-old Oxford professor was awarded the prestigious 2016 Abel Prize for
his work by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Tech Times reports.
In May he will fly to Oslo
where the Crown Prince Haakon of Norway will present him with the award and a
$700,000 check for the accomplishment that the academy described as “an epochal
moment for mathematics,” according to The Telegraph.
“Wiles is one of very few
mathematicians — if not the only one — whose proof of a theorem has made international
headline news,” said the Abel
Committee.
When Wiles learned of the
award, which is sometimes described as the Nobel prize of math, he told the University of Oxford:
It is a tremendous honor to
receive the Abel Prize and to join the previous Laureates who have made such
outstanding contributions to the field. Fermat’s equation was my passion from
an early age, and solving it gave me an overwhelming sense of fulfillment. It
has always been my hope that my solution of this age-old problem would inspire
many young people to take up mathematics and to work on the many challenges of
this beautiful and fascinating subject.
In 1637, the French
mathematician, Pierre de Fermat, formulated the theorem that Wiles
cracked. It states that there are no whole number solutions to the equation x^n
+ y^n = z^n, when n is greater than 2.
According to CNN, Wiles has been fascinated with the theorem since he was
10 years old and stumbled upon it in a library.
“I knew from that moment that I
would never let it go,” he told The
Abel Prize. “I had to solve it.”
He also told The Guardian:
“What amazed me was that there
were some unsolved problems that someone who was 10 years old could understand
and even try. And I tried it throughout my teenage years. When I first went to
college I thought I had a proof, but it turned out to be wrong.”
While working at Princeton
University, he spent seven years secretly working on the theorem until he
finally found proof it in the early ’90s. By solving the problem he opened the
door to a new era in his field, being that problems that once seemed
inaccessible “were now open,” he told Oxford.
Now he is being rewarded for
this incredible work, telling Oxford in the video below:
“You never forget the moment
you have these great breakthroughs — it’s what you live for.”