The Shaw Prize Committee recognized Professor Fukaya for proposing and developing the “Fukaya category” – a concept that describes the profound relationship between geometry and algebra in symmetric spaces. This is a groundbreaking concept, opening up new research directions in symmetric topology, mirror symmetry and gauge theory. His work opened a turning point in modern mathematical thinking and had a profound influence on theoretical physics and algebraic geometry.
In an interview with the Institute of Mathematics (Taiwan, China), Professor Kenji Fukaya shared that he started taking mathematics seriously in his late high school years. At that time, although the curriculum in Japan already included calculus, he still sought out more advanced reading materials such as Serge Lang's books on calculus and Frigyes Riesz and Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy's Functional Analysis, a field he was particularly fond of.
Born in 1959 in Yokohama (Japan), Professor Kenji Fukaya successfully defended his PhD thesis in Mathematics at the University of Tokyo in 1986, researching Riemannian manifolds. He taught at Kyoto University with many foundational works, before joining the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics (Stony Brook University, USA) in 2013. Since 2024, he has held the position of professor at the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications (BIMSA) and the Yau Center for Mathematical Sciences (YMSC), Tsinghua University (China).
He once shared: "Mathematics, in a sense, is freedom. In that world , we can create chains of events - theorems - with our imagination and sense of beauty. There, personal beauty blends with logical verification - and that is what makes mathematics so wonderfully attractive."
According to SCMP , during his career, Fukaya has received many prestigious awards such as the 1989 Geometry Prize of the Mathematical Society of Japan, the Inoue Prize for Science (2002), the Japan Academy Prize (2003), the Asahi Prize (2009) and the Fujiwara Prize (2012). He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Japan.
International scientists highly appreciate his influence. Professor Mohammed Abouzaid (Stanford University, USA) commented: “Fukaya’s work has connected a field that relies heavily on geometric intuition with fields with deep algebraic structures, creating a completely new style of mathematics”.
Meanwhile, Professor Denis Auroux (Harvard University) affirmed: “Kenji Fukaya's thinking and vision have shaped the development of symmetrical geometry over the past three decades. His being awarded the Shaw Prize is a worthy recognition for a lifetime of dedication.”
The Shaw Prize, dubbed the “Nobel Prize of Asia”, is awarded annually to honor scientists who have made groundbreaking contributions to humanity. Each category is worth 1.2 million USD (more than 31 billion VND), managed by the Shaw Prize Foundation (Hong Kong, China).
Professor Kenji Fukaya's honor this year is not only an international recognition of his outstanding intellect and contributions, but also affirms Asia's increasingly important position on the world map of mathematics.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/giao-su-toan-66-tuoi-doat-giai-thuong-tri-gia-1-2-trieu-usd-2455810.html
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