The Abel Prize honours scientific work of exceptional depth and influence in the field of mathematics and is therefore also regarded as a kind of "Nobel Prize in Mathematics".

Gerd Faltings joined the University of Wuppertal in 1982 and, at the age of 27, became the youngest full professor of mathematics in Germany at the time. Faltings' work revolutionised algebraic geometry and also had an impact on other areas of mathematics, such as number theory.

In 1983, Gerd Faltings became famous in the mathematical world overnight when he proved the "Mordell conjecture" - a proof of the century for a question that had stubbornly resisted all attempts at proof for over 60 years. In 1986, he was the first German to receive the Fields Medal, the highest honour for mathematicians, for this breakthrough.

Faltings moved to Princeton University in New Jersey, USA, in 1985. He returned to Germany in 1994 and worked as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn and as a professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bonn until his retirement in 2023.

"The University of Wuppertal congratulates him from the bottom of its heart!" says a delighted Rector Birgitta Wolff. "The fact that Gerd Falting's sensational career as a mathematician began in Wuppertal is also a compliment to our Department of Mathematics, whose creative minds are also currently showcasing their skills in the Kunsthalle Barmen."