Akshay Venkatesh wins Fields Medal

Mathematics Professor Akshay Venkatesh won the Fields Medal, the most prestigious prize in mathematics. He is known as someone with broad expertise who has contributed to many areas of math. Akshay Venkatesh, a professor of mathematics at Stanford University, has won the 2018 Fields Medal, the highest honor in math. Venkatesh joins Stanford mathematicians Maryam Mirzakhani, who won in 2014, and Paul Cohen, who won in 1966. Stanford Professor Akshay Venkatesh has been awarded the 2018 Fields Medal for his achievements in mathematics, including his synthesis of analytic number theory, homogeneous dynamics, topology and representation theory. (Image credit: Rod Searcey) Officially known as the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, the Fields Medal was presented by the International Mathematical Union on Aug. 1 at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), held this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.