The Abel Year 2004
"for their discovery and proof of the index theorem, bringing together topology, geometry and analysis, and their outstanding role in building new bridges between mathematics and theoretical physics."
Isadore Singer and Sir Michael Atiyah received the Abel Prize from His Majesty King Harald during the award ceremony in the University of Oslo Aula. The Academy's President, Lars Walløe, and the chair of the Abel Committee, Erling Størmer, gave speeches.
Isadore Singer and Sir Michael Atiyah, this year's Abel Laureates, were interviewed in Oslo by Martin Raussen and Christian Skau prior to the award ceremony.
"Man versus machine - the brain and the computer", was the topic Abel Laureate Sir Michael Atiyah chose for his talk at Café Rust in Oslo. The discussion afterwards was chaired by BBC-journalist Quentin Cooper.
Lars Walløe, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, announced on 25 March that the 2004 Abel Prize is shared between Sir Michael Atiyah og Isadore Singer. They receive the prize for their discovery and proof of the index theorem.
Nearly 40 top mathematicians gathered in Oslo for the first Abel Symposium. The theme of the symposium was Operator Algebras in a wide sense. The symposium was organized by a committee headed by Professor Ola Bratteli, University of Oslo.