CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A University of Miami professor will receive $3 million after being recognized as one of the world's best mathematicians.
In November, professor Maxim Kontsevich will be one of five mathematicians to receive the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in mathematics.
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Created in 2014 by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and venture capitalist Yuri Milne, the Breakthrough Prize in mathematics intends to recognize achievements in the field and honor "the world's best mathematicians," according to a UM news release.
According to a statement from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, Kontsevich is known "for making a deep impact in a vast variety of mathematical disciplines, including algebraic geometry, deformation theory, symplectic topology, homological algebra and dynamical systems."
"I became interested in mathematics at age 10-11, mainly because of the influence of my brother," Konstevich wrote in an online autobiography.
He explored his interest in mathematics at Moscow State University during his teenage years.
In 1992, Kontsevich earned his Ph.D from the University of Bonn in Germany, where he focused on the intersection of math and physics, commonly known as knot theory.
Kontsevich now splits his time between teaching at the University of Miami and researching at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, a French institute in support of advancing research in math and theoretical physics located south of Paris.
Last year Kontsevich was awarded the Breakthorugh Prize in applied physics.