American Philosophical Society
Member History

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Resident[X]
Subdivision
104. Mathematics[X]
1Name:  Dr. Andrew J. Wiles
 Institution:  University of Oxford
 Year Elected:  1997
 Class:  1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
 Subdivision:  104. Mathematics
 Residency:  Resident
 Living? :   Living
 Birth Date:  1953
   
 
Andrew Wiles is currently Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford University. He was a professor at Princeton from 1994 to 2011. Dr. Wiles has made major breakthroughs in the study of rational elliptic curves associated with modular forms and is most famous for proving Fermat's Last Theorem, which for 350 years stood as a "Mount Everest" of mathematics. He was introduced to the theorem at age ten and tried to prove it during his youth before stopping to study elliptic curves during his graduate studies. He eventually dedicated eight years to the proof, announcing a solution on June 23, 1993 at the conclusion of a lecture at the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge, England. When mathematicians raised questions about his proof, Dr. Wiles himself noticed a flaw, which sent him back to work for nearly a year. In October 1994, he unveiled his revised proof, which has been confirmed by experts in the field. For his efforts, Dr. Wiles has received, among other awards, the Schock Prize (1995), the Cole Prize (1996), the Royal Medal (1996), the Wolf Prize (1996), the Clay Research Award (1999) and a silver plaque from the International Mathematics Union recognizing his achievements. He earned his BA degree from Merton College, Oxford University in 1974 and his Ph.D. from Clare College, Cambridge University in 1980. In 2000 he was named a Knight of the British Empire.
 
2Name:  Dr. David Mumford
 Institution:  Brown University
 Year Elected:  1997
 Class:  1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
 Subdivision:  104. Mathematics
 Residency:  Resident
 Living? :   Living
 Birth Date:  1937
   
 
David Mumford is a mathematician known both for his distinguished work in algebraic geometry and for his research into vision and pattern theory. Currently a professor emeritus in the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University, he previously had a long academic career at Harvard University, where he became a full professor of mathematics at Harvard University at the age of 30. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1961. Dr. Mumford's work in geometry always combined the traditional geometric insights with the latest algebraic techniques. He published on moduli spaces, with a theory summed up in his book Geometric Invariant Theory, on the equations defining an abelian variety, and on algebraic surfaces. He essentially founded the subject of the global moduli of algebraic curves, and in 1974, he was awarded the highest distinction in mathematics, the Fields Medal. During the 1980s Dr. Mumford left algebraic geometry in order to study brain structure. He was a MacArthur Fellow from 1987-92, won the Shaw Prize in 2006, and was awarded the 2010 National Medal of Science. His current area of work is pattern theory.
 
Election Year
1997[X]