A. Fields Medal

The Fields Medal is often described as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics" for the prestige it carries, though in most other ways the relatively new Abel Prize is a more direct analogue. Founded at the behest of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields, the medal was first awarded in 1936, to Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American mathematician Jesse Douglas, and has been awarded every four years (in contrast with the Nobel Prize) since 1950. The Medal also has an age limit: a recipient's 40th birthday must not occur before the first of January of the year in which the Fields Medal is awarded. As a result some great mathematicians have missed it by having done their best work (or having had their work recognized) too late. The 40-year rule is based on Fields' desire that... while it was in recognition of work already done, it was at the same time intended to be an encouragement for further achievements of the recipients and a stimulus for other people to renew their efforts.

The monetary award is much lower than the roughly US $1.5 million given with each Nobel Prize. Finally, Fields Medals have generally been awarded for a body of work, rather than for a particular result; and instead of a direct citation there is a speech of congratulation.

Other major awards in mathematics, such as the Abel Prize, recognize lifetime achievement, again making them different in kind from the Nobel ones, although the Abel has a large monetary prize like a Nobel. The Fields Medal has the prestige of the selection by the IMU, which represents the world mathematical community

I. Look at these words. Why were they important in this text?

John Charles Fields; since 1950; a recipient’s 40^th birthday; US $1.5 million.