Gerd Faltings, who proved the Mordell conjecture, wins the Abel Prize

Summary

March 19, 20263 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmGerd Faltings, mathematician who proved the Mordell conjecture, wins the Abel Prize at age 71The Mordell conjecture—now known as Faltings’s theorem—concerns the number of special points on a curveBy Joseph Howlett edited by Clara MoskowitzAt age 71, German mathematician Gerd Faltings was awarded the Abel Prize today. Peter Badge/Typos1/The Abel PrizeThis year’s Abel Prize, an annual lifetime achievement award for mathematics that is bestowed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and was modeled on the Nobel Prize, has been given to Gerd Faltings, a German mathematician who is most famous for proving the influential Mordell conjecture in 1983. That conjecture has since been named “Faltings’s theorem” after him.The award joins a heap of accolades Faltings, age 71, has piled up over his long career. That list includes the Fields Medal, math’s most coveted prize, which Faltings won at age 32. “Near the beginning of my career, I got the Fields Medal. And near the end, I’m getting the Abel Prize,” Faltings says. “It’s a nice duality.”Faltings’s theorem is about curves. Often, these can be described by simple equations with two variables that are multiplied and added together. Chart the solutions of such an equation on a coordinate grid, and they’ll form a line or an ellipse or a more complicated, twisty curve.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Since the beginning of math, people have been looking for a rarified subset of these solutions—“rational” points on the curve, where the coordinates are integers or fractions. These special points have rich and complicated relationships that bely a hidden order that mathematicians aim to uncover.But there are an infinity of curves out there...