Two Israeli Professors Awarded Prestigious Wolf Prize in Mathematics

Eight scientists, including two Israelis, have been selected as recipients of the 2026 Wolf Prize. The laureates in physics, chemistry, medicine, and mathematics were announced Thursday at the President's Residence, in the presence of Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog and Acting Chairwoman of the Wolf Foundation Council, Prof. Osnat Luxenburg. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Knesset in June 2027.

The two Israeli winners are mathematicians Prof. Yosef Bernstein from Tel Aviv University and Prof. David Kazhdan from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. They are being honored with the Wolf Prize in Mathematics for their groundbreaking work in representation theory, automorphic forms, and algebraic geometry, and for their contributions to the creation of geometric representation theory. According to the prize committee, their work has fundamentally altered mathematicians' understanding of the connections between algebra, geometry, and analysis, with the tools and concepts they developed becoming foundational in mathematical research and continuing to be applied in various fields.

Prof. Kazhdan, originally from Moscow, is a recipient of the 2012 Israel Prize in Mathematics and Computer Sciences and is recognized as a leading researcher in representation theory. Prof. Bernstein, also a Moscow native, immigrated to Israel in 1993 and joined Tel Aviv University. His contributions over the years include advancements in geometric representation theory and research in automorphic forms.

The Wolf Prize is awarded in Israel to scientists and artists worldwide for significant achievements and contributions in their fields, and is considered one of the most prestigious international awards in science. The Wolf Foundation describes it as second only to the Nobel Prize in importance, and many past recipients have gone on to win Nobel Prizes, earning it the nickname "Nobel predictor."