Former Members Win 2016 Crafoord Prizes in Mathematics and Astronomy

Yakov Eliashberg, Member (2001-02) in the School of Mathematics, received the Crafoord Prize in Mathematics for the development of contact and symplectic topology and groundbreaking discoveries of rigidity and flexibility phenomena. Roger Blandford, Member (1974–75, 1998) in the School of Natural Sciences, and Roy Kerr, were awarded the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy for their fundamental work on rotating black holes and their astrophysical consequences. The Crafoord Prizes, which are awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, are intended to promote international basic research in the disciplines of astronomy and mathematics, geosciences, biosciences, and polyarthritis.