Hebrew University mathematician David Kazhdan was announced the recipient of the 2020 Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences, the first Israeli ever to receive the prize described as the “Nobel of the East.”

He received the award together with Alexander Beilinson of Chicago.

The Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences was awarded in equal shares to the two for “their huge influence on and profound contributions to representation theory, as well as many other areas of mathematics.”

“Beilinson and Kazhdan are at the heart of many of the most exciting developments in mathematics over the last few decades, developments that continue to this day,” the Shaw Prize stated.

Established in 2002 under the auspices of the late Sir Run Run Shaw in Hong Kong, the prestigious Shaw Prize honors individuals who have achieved distinguished and significant advances in the fields of astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences.

Each category carries a monetary award of $1.2 million.

In 2012, Kazhdan was awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s highest academic honor, for mathematics and computer science.

(TPS).