Mercer Times

Princeton mathematician Noga Alon has received the 2024 Wolf Prize in Mathematics “for pioneering contributions to mathematical cryptography, combinatorics, and the theory of computer science.” He shares the prize with Adi Shamir of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Alon, a professor of mathematics and applied and computational mathematics, is one of the most prolific mathematicians in the world. He has published more than 850 papers, including contributions to biology, economics, and neuroscience.

“I am delighted and honored to be one of the recipients of the 2024 Wolf Prize,” Alon said. “I would like to thank Princeton University, which provided ideal research conditions, and I would also like to thank my teachers, students, collaborators and family, who all played a major role in my success. I view the prize as a recognition of the central place of combinatorics and its applications in modern mathematics and related scientific areas, and I am happy that my work helped in the development of the subject.”

The Wolf Prize citation called out Alon's “profound impact on discrete mathematics and related areas. His seminal contributions include the development of ingenious techniques in combinatorics, graph theory and theoretical computer science, and the solution of long-standing problems in these fields as well as in analytical number theory, combinatorial geometry, and information theory.”

For 46 years, the Wolf Prize has celebrated significant contributions to advancing science and the arts “in the interest of humanity.” Each year, prizes are awarded in agriculture, architecture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, music, painting and sculpture, and physics. The 382 scientists and artists honored over the past half-century have each been selected by an international jury of experts. Laureates receive a certificate and a monetary award of $100,000. More than one-third of Wolf Prize recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in their field.

Alon joins other Princeton faculty members who have received Wolf Prizes: Bonnie Bassler (2022), Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology; Elizabeth Diller (2022), professor of architecture; Charles Fefferman (2017), Herbert E. Jones Jr. ’43 University Professor of Mathematics; Peter Sarnak (2014), Eugene Higgins Professor of Mathematics; Yakov Sinai (1997), emeritus professor of mathematics; Andrew Wiles (1995), James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus.