Michael Artin
National Medal of Science
Mathematics And Computer Science
For his leadership in modern algebraic geometry, including three major bodies of work: étale cohomology; algebraic approximation of formal solutions of equations; and non-commutative algebraic geometry.
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Birth
June 28, 1934Age Awarded
79Country of Birth
GermanyKey Contributions
Artin Approximation MethodAwarded by
Barack ObamaEducation
Harvard UniversityPrinceton University
Areas of Impact
Theory & FoundationsAffiliations
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyOther Prizes
Alfred P. Sloan FellowNumbers and equations course through Michael Artin’s blood.
His father, one of the leading mathematicians of the twentieth century, created a protégé as he bestowed a love of learning that has lasted a lifetime.
“My father loved teaching as much as I do, and he taught me many things: sometimes mathematics, but also the names of wild flowers,” Artin wrote in 2002 after accepting the Steele Prize from the American Mathematical Society. “We played music and examined pond water.”
At Princeton, Artin studied both biology and math – eventually making a pivotal choice to pursue the latter.
“I planned to switch to biology at age thirty when, as everyone knew, mathematicians were washed up,” he joked.
Of course, that never happened.
Today, Artin, a professor emeritus at MIT, is known for introducing theories in modern algebraic geometry – the study of solutions to algebraic equations – that are staples in classrooms across the country.