Oxford mathematician Ehud Hrushovski and Noga Alon receive the award for their contributions to discrete mathematics and model theory with interaction notably with algebraic geometry, topology and computer sciences.

Professor Ehud Hrushovski’s work is concerned with mapping the interactions and interpretations among different mathematical worlds.

<!––>Guided by the model theory of Robinson, Shelah and Zilber, he investigated mathematical areas including highly symmetric finite structures, differential equations, difference equations and their relations to arithmetic geometry and the Frobenius maps, aspects of additive combinatorics, motivic integration, valued fields and non-archimedean geometry.

In some cases, notably approximate subgroups and geometric Mordell-Lang, the metatheory had impact within the field itself, and led to a lasting involvement of model theorists in the area.

Professor Hrushovski took part in the creation of geometric stability and simplicity theory in finite dimensions, and in establishing the role of definable groups within first order model theory. He has co-authored papers with 45 collaborators and has received a number of awards including the Karp, Erdős and Rothschild prizes and the 2019 Heinz Hopf prize.

The Shaw Prize is an annual award first presented by the Shaw Prize Foundation in 2004. Established in 2002 in Hong Kong it honours living individuals who are currently active in their respective fields and who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances, who have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications, or who in other domains have achieved excellence.

Professor Hrushovski becomes the fifth Oxford mathematician to win the prize.