Call for nominations for IMU prizes

To: The Adhering Organizations of the International Mathematical Union (IMU)

Dear colleagues

As Secretary General of the IMU I invite you to submit nominations for the IMU distinctions listed below, thus assisting the corresponding committees in their task of selecting the awardees who will receive their distinctions at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) 2026 in Philadelphia, USA.

Here is the list of awards for which we presently seek nominations, each listed with a short description and the email address to which nominations should be sent:

The Fields Medals

Chair: IMU President Hiraku Nakajima – Email: chair@fields26.mathunion.org 

The Fields Medals are awarded every 4 years on the occasion of the ICM to recognize outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement

The IMU Abacus Medal

Chair: Endre Süli – Email: chair@abacus26.mathunion.org  

The IMU Abacus Medal is awarded once every 4 years at the ICM for outstanding contributions in mathematical aspects of information sciences. The IMU Abacus Medal is a continuation of the Nevanlinna Prize and was awarded for the first time at ICM 2022.

The Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize

Chair: Felix Otto – Email: chair@gauss26.mathunion.org 

The Gauss Prize is awarded once every 4 years to honor a scientist whose mathematical research has had an impact outside mathematics – either in technology, in business, or simply in people’s everyday lives.

The Chern Medal Award

Chair: Nathalie Wahl – Email: chair@chern26.mathunion.org  

The Chern Medal is awarded every 4 years on the occasion of the ICM to an individual whose accomplishments warrant the highest level of recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of mathematics.

The Leelavati Prize

Chair: Hinke Osinga – Email: chair@leelavati26.mathunion.org  

The Leelavati Prize is intended to accord high recognition and great appreciation by the IMU and Infosys for outstanding contributions to increasing public awareness of mathematics as an intellectual discipline and the crucial role it plays in diverse human endeavors. 

The IMU also requests nominations for the

ICM Emmy Noether Lecture

Chair: Jill Pipher – Email: chair@noether26.mathunion.org  

The ICM Emmy Noether Lecture is a special lecture at an ICM that honors women who have made fundamental and sustained contributions to the mathematical sciences.

More information about each of these awards and the Noether lecture, as well as lists of past laureates, can be found on the IMU website.

The full composition of each committee remains confidential and will not be revealed until the opening ceremony of ICM 2026.

The IMU stands for and promotes diversity in mathematics, with a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in all its activities. Committee members abide by the IMU’s guidelines on conflicts of interest, unconscious bias, and the principle of freedom and responsibility in science.

To allow the committees sufficient time for this decision process, the IMU has set 31 December 2024 as the deadline for nominations. 

Because the ICM Emmy Noether Lecture is a special lecture at an ICM, the deadline for nominations for the ICM Emmy Noether Lecture is earlier and is set for 1 October 2024. 

Nominations received after these dates will only be considered at the discretion of the committee. Thus, we would like to urge you to submit any compelling nominations you wish to make before the above deadlines.

Please send your nomination to the special email address of the committee chair as given above.  Thereby you will ensure that it automatically reaches the corresponding committee. A copy of your nomination material will be archived in the IMU Secretariat in Berlin with an embargo of 70 years for anyone outside the committee.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Regards

Christoph Sorger
Secretary General of the International Mathematical Union