IMU Leelavati Prize


The International Mathematical Union awards the Leelavati Prize once every 4 years at the International Congress of Mathematicians. It is awarded:-

... for increasing public awareness of mathematics as an intellectual discipline and the crucial role it plays in diverse human endeavors.

The Leelavati prize is named after the 12th Century mathematical treatise Leelavati -- devoted to arithmetic and algebra -- by the Indian mathematician Bhaskara II. In the book the author poses a series of problems in elementary arithmetic and algebra as challenges to a person named Leelavati, followed by indications of solutions. The problems are written in verse form. According to a legend, Leelavati was a daughter of Bhaskaracharya and the book arose out of the author's efforts to console her with mathematics when a planned wedding for her was cancelled. This work appears to have been the main source of learning arithmetic and algebra in medieval India. The work was also translated into Persian and was influential in West Asia.

The prize is financed by Infosys and is worth about $20 000.

2010 Simon Singh

2014 Adrián Paenza

2018 Ali Nesin

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International Mathematical Union
Fields Medal
DMV/IMU Gauss Prize
Nevanlinna Prize
Leelavati Prize
Chern Medal
Emmy Noether Lecture

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