The Rolf Schock Prize in Mathematics 2011 is being awarded to Michael Aschbacher
“for his fundamental contributions to one of the largest mathematical projects ever, the classification of finite simple groups, notably his contribution to the quasi-thin case”.
Michael Aschbacher is the Shaler Arthur Hanisch Professor of Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology. He has made fundamental contributions to group theory, especially regarding the classification of finite simple groups. He was awarded the Cole Prize by the American Mathematical Society in 1980, and became a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1990.
The Rolf Schock Prizes are triennial and are awarded in the fields of logic and philosophy, mathematics, the visual arts and the musical arts. The prize amount is SEK 500,000 per category (USD 75,000), making a total of SEK 2 million. The prizes are awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts and The Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award ceremony will take place in Stockholm on 2 November 2011.
The three other laureates 2011 are the violinist and conductor Andrew Manze, who is awarded The Rolf Schock Prize in the Musical Arts, which is announced on 21 March in a separate press release; the painter Marlene Dumas, who is awarded the prize in the visual arts and Professor Hilary Putnam, who is awarded the prize in logic and philosophy, as has been previously announced.