Barry Mazur Awarded 2022 Chern Medal

The International Mathematical Union named Harvard Gerhard Gade University Professor Barry Mazur as the recipient of the 2022 Chern Medal.

The award celebrates lifelong outstanding achievements in the field of mathematics and is given out once every four years. Mazur’s received the award for numerous fundamental contributions that have enriched mathematics over the past 50, including his work in topology, arithmetic geometry, number theory, and for his leadership and generosity in shaping the next generation of mathematicians.

“I’m delighted to receive the Chern Medal,” Mazur said. “It gets me to survey the full arc of my life with mathematics and so — most definitely — is quite meaningful to me.”

Mazur is an internationally known mathematician who has been a part of the Harvard community for more than 60 years. President Obama awarded him the National Medal of Science in 2013 and he is the recipient of the Leroy P. Steele Prize, the Cole Prize, the Chauvenet Prize, and the Oswald Veblen Prize, among others. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

The IMU and the Chern Medal Foundation (CMF) established the Chern Medal Award in memory of Chinese mathematician Shiing-Sheng Chern, who died in 2004. Chern devoted his life to mathematical research and education, obtained fundamental results in all major aspects of modern geometry, and founded the area of global differential geometry.

The award consists of a medal and a monetary award of $500,000. Half of the money is donated to organizations chosen by the medalist and approved by the Friends of IMU that will assist research, education, outreach, or other activities to promote mathematics. Mazur intends to choose organizations that focus on mathematical education for the young.