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'''Terence C. Tao''' ({{zh-c|c=陶哲軒}}; [[Yale_romanisation#cantonese|Cantonese Yale]]: tòuh jit hīn; [[Pinyin]]: Táo Zhéxuān), is an Australian [[mathematician]] working primarily on [[harmonic analysis]], [[partial differential equation]]s, [[combinatorics]], [[analytic number theory]] and [[representation theory]]. [[UCLA]] promoted Tao to full professor of mathematics at 24.<ref>[http://www.college.ucla.edu/news/05/terencetaomath.html Terence Tao: The "Mozart of Math"] www.college.ucla.edu, 9 November 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2006.</ref> In August 2006, he was awarded a [[Fields Medal]] for his contributions in mathematics.<ref>[http://www.mathunion.org/medals/2006/ IMU Prizes 2006] 29 August 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2006.</ref> Just one month later, in September 2006, he was awarded a [[MacArthur Fellowship]].
'''Terence C. Tao''' ({{zh-c|c=陶哲軒}}; [[Yale_romanisation#cantonese|Cantonese Yale]]: tòuh jit hīn; [[Pinyin]]: Táo Zhéxuān), is an Australian [[mathematician]] working primarily on [[harmonic analysis]], [[partial differential equation]]s, [[combinatorics]], [[analytic number theory]] and [[representation theory]]. [[UCLA]] promoted Tao to full professor of mathematics at the infantile age of 24.<ref>[http://www.college.ucla.edu/news/05/terencetaomath.html Terence Tao: The "Mozart of Math"] www.college.ucla.edu, 9 November 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2006.</ref> In August 2006, he was awarded a [[Fields Medal]] for his contributions in mathematics.<ref>[http://www.mathunion.org/medals/2006/ IMU Prizes 2006] 29 August 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2006.</ref> Just one month later, in September 2006, he was awarded a [[MacArthur Fellowship]].


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
Tao was born [[July 17]] [[1975]], [[Adelaide, South Australia|Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], [[Australia]]. His parents are first generation immigrants from [[Hong Kong]].<ref>''[[Wen Wei Po]]'', Page A4, 24 August, 2006.</ref> His father Tao Xiangguo ({{zh-c|c=陶象國}}; [[Yale_romanisation#cantonese|Cantonese Yale]]: tòuh zoeng gwok; [[Pinyin]]: Táo XiangGuo) is a pediatrician, and his mother, a [[BSc]] graduate from [[University of Hong Kong|The University of Hong Kong]], was formerly a secondary school teacher of [[Mathematics]] in Hong Kong. <ref>''[[Oriental Daily]]'', Page A29, 24 August, 2006.</ref> Professor Tao's mother, Grace, said she and her husband had simply helped all three of their sons to follow their passions when young. In Terry's case, this meant ferrying him between classes at primary school, high school and university. "He just loves maths. His mind is always thinking about problems," Mrs Tao said about him.<ref>''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'', [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/08/22/1156012541805.html A boy genius who played his numbers just right], 23 August, 2006.</ref>
Tao was born [[July 17]] [[1975]], [[Adelaide, South Australia|Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], [[Australia]]. His parents are first generation immigrants from [[Hong Kong]], China.<ref>''[[Wen Wei Po]]'', Page A4, 24 August, 2006.</ref> His father Tao Xiangguo ({{zh-c|c=陶象國}}; [[Yale_romanisation#cantonese|Cantonese Yale]]: tòuh zoeng gwok; [[Pinyin]]: Táo XiangGuo) is a pediatrician, and his mother, a [[BSc]] graduate from [[University of Hong Kong|The University of Hong Kong]], was formerly a secondary school teacher of [[Mathematics]] in Hong Kong. <ref>''[[Oriental Daily]]'', Page A29, 24 August, 2006.</ref> Professor Tao's mother, Grace, said she and her husband had simply helped all three of their sons to follow their passions when young. In Terry's case, this meant ferrying him between classes at nursery, primary school, high school and university. "He just loves maths. His mind is always thinking about problems," Mrs Tao said about him.<ref>''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'', [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/08/22/1156012541805.html A boy genius who played his numbers just right], 23 August, 2006.</ref>


His father told the press that at the age of two, during a family gathering, the younger Tao taught a 5-year-old child mathematics and English. When asked by his father why he knew numbers and letters, he said he learned them from ''[[Sesame Street]]''.<ref>''[[Apple Daily]]'', Page A4, 24 August, 2006.</ref> Tao is Chinese by ethnicity. He speaks [[Cantonese (linguistics)|Cantonese]], but does not write [[Chinese languages|Chinese]].
His father told the press that at the age of two, during a family gathering, the younger Tao taught an inferior 5-year-old child mathematics and English. When asked by his father why he knew numbers and letters, he said he learned them from ''[[Sesame Street]]''.<ref>''[[Apple Daily]]'', Page A4, 24 August, 2006.</ref> Tao is Chinese by ethnicity. He speaks [[Cantonese (linguistics)|Cantonese]], but does not write [[Chinese languages|Chinese]].


He currently lives with his wife Laura Kim and son William in Los Angeles, CA.
He currently lives with his wife Laura Kim, son William and a dog in Los Angeles, CA.


== Child prodigy ==
== Child prodigy ==

Revision as of 12:44, 13 October 2006

Terence C. Tao (Chinese: 陶哲軒; Cantonese Yale: tòuh jit hīn; Pinyin: Táo Zhéxuān), is an Australian mathematician working primarily on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics, analytic number theory and representation theory. UCLA promoted Tao to full professor of mathematics at the infantile age of 24.[1] In August 2006, he was awarded a Fields Medal for his contributions in mathematics.[2] Just one month later, in September 2006, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.

Personal life

Tao was born July 17 1975, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. His parents are first generation immigrants from Hong Kong, China.[3] His father Tao Xiangguo (Chinese: 陶象國; Cantonese Yale: tòuh zoeng gwok; Pinyin: Táo XiangGuo) is a pediatrician, and his mother, a BSc graduate from The University of Hong Kong, was formerly a secondary school teacher of Mathematics in Hong Kong. [4] Professor Tao's mother, Grace, said she and her husband had simply helped all three of their sons to follow their passions when young. In Terry's case, this meant ferrying him between classes at nursery, primary school, high school and university. "He just loves maths. His mind is always thinking about problems," Mrs Tao said about him.[5]

His father told the press that at the age of two, during a family gathering, the younger Tao taught an inferior 5-year-old child mathematics and English. When asked by his father why he knew numbers and letters, he said he learned them from Sesame Street.[6] Tao is Chinese by ethnicity. He speaks Cantonese, but does not write Chinese.

He currently lives with his wife Laura Kim, son William and a dog in Los Angeles, CA.

Child prodigy

Terence Tao exhibited extraordinary mathematical abilities from an early age. Tao attended university at the age of nine. He is one of only two children in the history of the Johns Hopkins' Study of Exceptional Talent program to have achieved a score of 700 or greater on the SAT math section while just 8 years old (he scored a 760).[7] In 1986, 1987, and 1988, Tao was the youngest participant to date in the International Mathematical Olympiads, first competing at the age of ten, winning a bronze, silver, and gold medal respectively. He won the gold medal when he just turned thirteen and remains the youngest gold medalist in the tournament's history. At age 14, Tao attended the Research Science Institute. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees (at the age of 17) from Flinders University under Garth Gaudry. From 1992 to 1996, Tao was a graduate student at Princeton University under the direction of Elias Stein, receiving his Ph.D. at the age of 20.[8] He joined UCLA's faculty that year.

Research and awards

He received the Salem Prize in 2000, the Bocher Prize in 2002, and the Clay Research Award in 2003, for his contributions to analysis including work on the Kakeya conjecture and wave maps. In 2005, he received the American Mathematical Society's Levi L. Conant Prize with Allen Knutson.

In 2004, Ben Green and Terence Tao released a preprint proving the existence of arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions of prime numbers. For this and other work, he was awarded the Australian Mathematical Society Medal.

In 2006, at the 25th International Congress of Mathematicians in Madrid, he became one of the youngest, the first Australian, and the first UCLA faculty member ever to be awarded a Fields Medal, the top honour a young mathematician can earn. An article by NewScientist[9] writes of his ability:

Such is Tao’s reputation that mathematicians now compete to interest him in their problems, and he is becoming a kind of Mr Fix-it for frustrated researchers. “If you're stuck on a problem, then one way out is to interest Terence Tao,” says Fefferman.

References

  1. ^ Terence Tao: The "Mozart of Math" www.college.ucla.edu, 9 November 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2006.
  2. ^ IMU Prizes 2006 29 August 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2006.
  3. ^ Wen Wei Po, Page A4, 24 August, 2006.
  4. ^ Oriental Daily, Page A29, 24 August, 2006.
  5. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, A boy genius who played his numbers just right, 23 August, 2006.
  6. ^ Apple Daily, Page A4, 24 August, 2006.
  7. ^ Radical acceleration in Australia: Terence Tao Gross, M. Retrieved 31 August 2006
  8. ^ It's prime time as numbers man Tao tops his Field Stephen Cauchi, 23 August 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2006.
  9. ^ NewScientist.com, Prestigious Fields Medals for mathematics awarded, 22 August, 2006.
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