Sixth Abel Conference Celebrates the Mathematical Achievements of Robert P. Langlands

On May 22, Robert P. Langlands, Professor Emeritus in the School of Mathematics, received The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, 2018 Abel Prize, which was presented at the University Aula in Oslo. The Abel Committee cited Langlands "for his visionary program connecting representation theory to number theory."

The Sixth Abel Conference, hosted by the University of Minnesota, from November 14–16, 2018, will celebrate the mathematical achievements of Langlands and discuss the thriving and broad landscape of modern mathematics that have inspired the work of mathematicians for the last three decades.

Langlands will deliver remarks at 4:00 p.m. EST on November 16, which can be streamed above, or at this link. A conference schedule and featured speakers can be found here.

Robert Langlands's profound insights in number theory and representation theory include the formulation of general principles relating automorphic forms and algebraic number theory; the introduction of a general class of L-functions; the construction of a general theory of Eisenstein series; the introduction of techniques for dealing with particular cases of the Artin conjecture (which proved to be of use in the proof of Fermat's theorem); the introduction of endoscopy; and the development of techniques for relating the zeta functions of Shimura varieties to automorphic L-functions.

Among Langlands's honors are the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences (2007); the Frederic Esser Nemmers Prize in Mathematics (2006); the Grande Médaille d'Or (Gold Medal) of the French Academy of Sciences (2000); the Wolf Prize in Mathematics (jointly with Andrew Wiles, 1996); the inaugural National Academy of Sciences Award in Mathematics (1988); the Common Wealth Award (1984); and the American Mathematical Society's Cole Prize (1982).

Read more about the event here.