Russian mathematician named for 2014 Abel Prize

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Wednesday named Russian mathematician Yakov G. Sinai for the 2014 Abel Prize for his contributions to dynamical systems, ergodic theory, and mathematical physics.

Nils Stenseth, the president of the academy, in a statement Wednesday named the winner of the prestigious prize, also called "the mathematics Nobel", in Oslo.

Sinai, a senior researcher with the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, and a professor at Princeton University in the US, will receive the prize at a ceremony in Oslo May 20.

The prize recognises contributions of extraordinary depth and influence to the mathematical sciences and has been awarded annually since 2003.

It carries a cash award of 6 million Norwegian kroner (about $1 million).

Sinai, 78, is one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century and has achieved numerous groundbreaking results in the theory of dynamical systems, in mathematical physics and in probability theory.

During the past half-century, he has written more than 250 research papers and a number of books.