- 2018 Fields Medal
Intro
Caucher Birkar is a UK-based Iranian Kurdish mathematician and a professor at the University of Cambridge. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 2018 for his proof of boundedness of Fano varieties and contributions to the minimal model problem.
Education and Work Experience
1996-2000, Bachelor's degree from University of Tehran
2001-2004, Ph.D. from University of Nottingham
2005-Present, Professor at University of Cambridge
Honors and Awards
2010, Leverhulme Prize in Mathematics and statistics
2010, Prize of the Fondation Sciences Mathématiques de Paris
2016, AMS Moore Prize
2018, Fields Medal
Major Academic Achievements
Caucher Birkar is a mathematician of great originality and depth. His research area, algebraic geometry, addresses fundamental questions about the nature of abstract geometric spaces. These questions can often be stated quite simply, but their resolution requires the use of a massive technical apparatus. Not only has Birkar completely mastered this apparatus, he also possesses profound geometric intuition that allows him to go beyond technical achievements and break new conceptual ground. His work has produced major advances in birational geometry, in particular in a central paradigm known sa the Minimal Model Program.