Congratulations to Prof. Avi Wigderson, an Israeli mathematician and four-time BSF grantee, for receiving the prestigious 2023 Turing Award, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Computing." Prof. Wigderson's groundbreaking insights into the role of randomness in computer algorithms and mathematics, alongside his decades of intellectual leadership in theoretical computer science, have earned him this distinguished recognition.

In a historic milestone, Prof. Wigderson has become the first person to receive both a Turing Award and the Abel Prize, the latter representing the highest honor for lifetime achievement in mathematics, awarded to him in 2021.

Born in Haifa in 1956, Prof. Wigderson completed his undergraduate studies at the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology in 1980, before earning his doctoral degree in computational complexity from Princeton University in 1983.

In 1987, he received the first of his BSF grants while serving as a young faculty member at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he investigated the inherent complexity of computational problems and the role of randomness in computation. During his tenure at Hebrew U, he collaborated with U.S. colleagues from MIT, Princeton and the University of California on three BSF projects. Prof. Wigderson's latest BSF grant, as a U.S. principal investigator from Princeton, continued his work in complexity theory.

Currently serving as the Herbert H. Maass Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, Prof. Avi Wigderson's four decades of dedicated research have significantly advanced our understanding of randomness and pseudorandomness in computation, shaping the landscape of computational complexity theory, algorithms, optimization, cryptography, and beyond.

It is with great pride that we witness our BSF grantees pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry and receiving the well-deserved respect and recognition of their peers. Kudos to Prof. Wigderson for an exceptional accomplishment and a truly remarkable career!

🔗 Read more here: https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sygqtkela


👉 See more about his BSF awards here: https://www.bsf.org.il/search-grant/?PageSize=15&SearchPI=wigderson&SearchInstitution=