Leroy P. Steele Prizes
Each year, The Steele Prize is awarded in the following categories. The amount of each prize is US$5,000.
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The Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement is awarded for the cumulative influence of the total mathematical work of the recipient, high level of research over a period of time, particular influence on the development of a field, and influence on mathematics through Ph.D. students.
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The Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition is awarded for a book or substantial survey or expository research paper.
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The Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research is awarded for a paper, whether recent or not, that has proved to be of fundamental or lasting importance in its field, or a model of important research.
Special Note: beginning with the 1994 prize, there has been a five-year cycle of fields for the Seminal Contribution to Research Award. That cycle would have the 2013 prize awarded in logic (logic alternates with discrete mathematics every five years), 2014 in analysis, 2015 in algebra, 2016 in applied mathematics, 2017 in geometry/topology, and 2018 in discrete mathematics renewing the cycle.
Most Recent Prizes
Lifetime Achievement: January 2013
The 2013 Lifetime Achievement Prize was awarded to Yakov Sinai for his pivotal role in shaping the theory of dynamical systems and for his groundbreaking contributions to ergodic theory, probability theory, statistical mechanics, and mathematical physics.
Mathematical Exposition: January 2013
The 2013 Mathematical Exposition Prize was awarded to John Guckenheimer and Philip Holmes in recognition of their book, Nonlinear Oscillations, Dynamical Systems, and Bifurcations of Vector Fields (Applied Mathematical Sciences, 42, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1983; reprinted with revisions and
corrections, 1990).
Seminal Contribution to Research: January 2013
The 2013 Seminal Contribution to Research Prize was awarded to Saharon Shelah for his book, Classification Theory and the Number of Nonisomorphic Models (Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics, 92, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam–New York, 1978; 2nd edition, 1990).
Next Prizes and Nomination Deadlines
Prizes to be Awarded in January 2014: Nominations now closed (deadline was March 31, 2013)
Prizes to be Awarded in January 2015: Nominations will be accepted February 1, 2014 - March 31, 2014
Nomination Procedure
Nominations with supporting information should be submitted, during the nomination period, through this online form: ams.org/profession/prizes-awards/nominations. Include a short description of the work that is the basis of the nomination, including complete bibliographic citations. A curriculum vitae should be included. Those who prefer to submit by regular mail may send nominations to the AMS Secretary, Professor Carla Savage, Box 8206, Computer Science Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8206. Those nominations will be forwarded by the Secretary to the prize selection committee.
Previous Prizes
View our prizes and awards archive to see all Steele Prize winners.
More About this Prize
These prizes were established in 1970 in honor of George David Birkhoff, William Fogg Osgood, and William Caspar Graustein, and are endowed under the terms of a bequest from Leroy P. Steele. From 1970 to 1976 one or more prizes were awarded each year for outstanding published mathematical research; most favorable consideration was given to papers distinguished for their exposition and covering broad areas of mathematics. In 1977 the Council of the AMS modified the terms under which the prizes are awarded. In 1993, the Council formalized the three categories of the prize by naming each of them: (1) The Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement; (2) The Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition; and (3) The Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research.
