There are several other prestigious awards worldwide that recognize mathematicians and their work, and that are appreciated and celebrated by the whole mathematical community, including the IMU. We mention here in particular those in which the IMU plays an institutional role.
The Norwegian government decided in 2002 to create an annual international prize in mathematics named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829). The first prize was awarded in 2003. While not formally an IMU award, the IMU has been a supporter of the prize since its inception, and together with the European Mathematical Society, the IMU proposes members to the Abel Committee that decides on the recipients of the Abel Prize.
The Abel Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. IMU nominates members of The Abel Committee.
The Ramanujan Prize for young mathematicians from developing countries, created in the name of Srinivasa Ramanujan, has been awarded annually since 2005. The Prize was originally instituted by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund, and the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The participation of the Abel Fund ended in 2012; the 2013 Prize was jointly funded and administered by the ICTP and the IMU. The Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India funded the Prize between 2014-2022 under the name of the DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize. No award was made in 2023. Since 2024 the Prize has again been jointly administered by the ICTP and the IMU.
The Prize is awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country, who must be less than 45 years of age on 31 December of the year of the award, and who has conducted outstanding research in a developing country.
ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize Details
The Gruber Cosmology Prize of the Gruber Foundation honors a leading cosmologist, astronomer, astrophysicist or scientific philosopher for theoretical, analytical, conceptual or observational discoveries leading to fundamental advances in our understanding of the universe. IMU nominates a member of the Cosmology Selection Advisory Board.