The Norwegian Academy of Science and Literature announced on the 27th that it has selected Masaki Kashiwara (78), a special professor at Kyoto University, as the winner of the Abel Prize, also called the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics." It is the first time that a Japanese person has won the Abel Prize.

Professor Kashiwara received his Ph.D. from Kyoto University in 1974 and served as the director of the Institute for Mathematical Analysis at Kyoto University. He has been a special professor since 2010.

Professor Kashiwara has been serving as a scalar at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KIAS) Heo Jun's Mathematical Difficulties Research Institute since 2016.

Professor Kashiwara is considered a master of expressionism. Expressionism is the branch of algebra that deals with mathematical structures and equations. Specifically, it is the field of studying properties by expressing mathematical objects such as symmetry and groups in different ways.

The academy said, "We highly appreciated the establishment of a theory called the 'D-module' in the field of algebra analysis and pioneering a new path in mathematics over 50 years."

The Abel Prize was created by the Norwegian government. Along with the Fields Award, which is given to young mathematicians under the age of 40, it is considered the highest honor in the mathematics world. The award ceremony will be held on May 20 at the University of Oslo, Norway.

In 2018, Professor Kashiwara received an international award given by the World Mathematical Union to mathematicians who have achieved outstanding achievements in mathematics.

He has ties to Korea. In the past, he was invited to Seoul National University and the National Institute of Mathematical Sciences to guide students. The prize money for the Abel Prize is 7.5 million kroner (about 1.04 billion won).

[Tokyo correspondent Lee Seunghoon]