Professor receives mathematics prize

He is the author of the most outstanding mathematics research article in the past six years.

Michael Larsen, distinguished professor in the mathematics department, received the E.H. Moore Research Article Prize from the American Mathematical Society, which is awarded every three years.

Richard Pink, professor of mathematics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, shares the award with Larsen for their article “Finite subgroups of algebraic groups,” published in the Journal of the American Mathematical Society in 2011.

“Larsen and Pink use concepts from algebraic geometry to give a classification of finite simple linear groups and thereby provide a revolutionary and influential point of view on a subject of classical interest,” Kevin Zumbrun, chair of the mathematics department, said in a press release. “This is a brilliant and extremely original work on a problem of fundamental mathematical importance.”

James Davis, mathematics professor, said the finite simple groups title was a major achievement of the 20th century.

“The classification of finite simple groups was a major achievement of the 20th century but is in some sense intellectually unsatisfying, since the proof is scattered throughout the 500 research articles, and its complexity is such that no individual can vouch for the veracity of all the details,” Davis said in a press release.

The Moore Prize citation said the article “provides a conceptual proof of an approximation to the classification of finite simple groups, using methods independent of the classification.”

According to a press release, a reviewer of the paper said, “The authors have done an excellent job of presenting the deep mathematics in the paper, and the result is a profound piece of work which is accessible to non-experts.”

Larsen and Pink received the prize Thursday in San Diego at the Joint Mathematics Meetings of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America.

— Claire Aronson