News Release

The Johns Hopkins University-based Japan-U.S. Mathematics Institute (JAMI) will be awarded the Mathematical Society of Japan's prestigious Seki-Takakazu Prize during a ceremony to be held in Tokyo on March 27. JAMI is the third recipient in the prize's 11-year history.

"This is a great honor," said Steven Zucker, director of JAMI and a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Johns Hopkins' Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. "It shows the level of esteem with which Japanese mathematicians hold JAMI. We are very proud of the interactions with the Japanese that have developed and the bonds that have been strengthened through JAMI."

Named for a 17th-century Japanese mathematical prodigy, the Seki-Takakazu Prize was established in 1995 to honor people and organizations that have supported and encouraged the development of mathematics in Japan over a long period. The prize consists of a gold medal and a copy of Seki Takakazu's collected works, said Sadayoshi Kojima, president of the Mathematical Society of Japan.

In addition, officials from Seki's home town of Fujioka will present JAMI with a bronze statue of the legendary Japanese figure, Kojima said.

Four professors from Johns Hopkins — Jean- Pierre Meyer, Jack Morava, W. Stephen Wilson and Zucker — will travel to Tokyo to receive the award and attend a celebration the following day.

The Seki-Takakazu Prize was first awarded in 1995 to Toyosaburo Taniguchi to honor his 40-plus years of financial support for international symposia devoted to mathematics. The second winner was German mathematician Friedrich Hirzebruch, who over 30 years invited many Japanese mathematicians to the University of Bonn and the Max-Planck-Institut.

JAMI was founded in 1988 to further cooperation between the two countries in mathematical research.