Nicholas Katz and Peter Sarnak Receive 2003 AMS Conant Prize

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January 16, 2003

PROVIDENCE, RI---Nicholas Katz of Princeton University, and Peter Sarnak of Princeton University and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, are receiving the 2003 AMS Conant Prize. Presented annually by the American Mathematical Society, the Conant Prize recognizes an outstanding expository paper published in either the Notices of the AMS or the Bulletin of the AMS in the preceding five years. The prize will be awarded today at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore, Maryland.

Professors Katz and Sarnak are being honored for their expository paper "Zeroes of zeta functions and symmetry," (Bulletin of the AMS 36 (1) 1-26 (1999)). The paper, a model of high-level exposition, presents a rich mix of intensive numerical exploration, conjectures, and theorems. Obviously a labor of love, the paper reflects the authors' enthusiasm and wonderment.

Further information about AMS prizes may be found at http://www.ams.org/prizes-awards.

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.