Salem Prize now accepting nominations

The Salem prize was established in 1968 and named in honor of Raphaël Salem (1898-1963), a mathematician famous notably for his deep study of the links between Fourier series and number theory and for pioneering applications of probabilistic methods to these fields. It was largely administered by Jean Bourgain until his untimely death in 2018; due to this and the COVID-19 pandemic, no prize was awarded for the years of 2019-2022. A list of past winners may be found here.

However, I am happy to report that the prize has been reactivated, and is now formally hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study, with Akshay Venkatesh overseeing the administration of the prize, and is accepting nominations for the 2023 Salem Prize until September 1st. Nominations should include a CV of the nominee and a nomination letter explaining the significance of the nominee’s work. Supplementary documentation, such as supporting letters of recommendation or key publications, can additionally be provided, but are not required.

Nominees may be individuals from any country or institution. Preference will be given to nominees who have received their PhD in the last ten years, although this rule may be relaxed if there are mitigating personal circumstances, or if there have been few Salem prize winners in recent years.  Self-nominations will not be considered, nor are past Prize winners or Scientific Committee members eligible.

The prize does not come with a direct monetary award, but winners will be invited to visit the IAS and to give a lecture associated with the award of the prize.

I will be chairing the Scientific Committee to evaluate the nominations and recommend a prize winner; Guy David and Mikhail Sodin have also agreed to serve. Special thanks also to Peter Sarnak for his tireless efforts to ensure the continuation of the prize after Jean’s passing.