Terence Tao
Awards & Honours
20
Awards Won
13
Honours
5
Rankings
3
Covers
4
Records
Terence Tao's list of honors reads like a tour of mathematics' highest peaks. He is one of only a handful of people to win the Fields Medal, Breakthrough Prize, and Crafoord Prize. In 2023, he received the Carl Friedrich Gauss Medal for applied mathematics, a rare honor that underscores his work's real-world impact. His 2020 Bôcher Memorial Prize recognized his deep contributions to analysis, including the Erdős discrepancy problem. Tao was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2007 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2012. He has been named an Australian Living Treasure and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. These achievements reflect not just brilliance but a career of sustained, wide-ranging influence.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
For distinguished service to mathematics as an academic and researcher, and to the community.
Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
For service to science and mathematics as a researcher and academic.
Australian Living Treasure
Designated as a living treasure for contributions to mathematics.
Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
Elected for contributions to mathematics.
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
Elected for outstanding contributions to mathematics.
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Elected for contributions to mathematics.
Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)
Elected for distinguished achievements in mathematics.
Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)
Elected as a full member.
Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Elected for contributions to mathematics.
James and Carol Collins Chair
Endowed chair in the College of Letters and Sciences.
Honorary Doctorate from Princeton University
Honorary Doctor of Science.
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Hong Kong
Honorary Doctor of Science.
Honorary Doctorate from Flinders University
Honorary Doctor of Science.
Rankings & Lists
TIME 100 Most Influential People
Nature's Top 10 People Who Mattered in Science
The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds
Australian Financial Review's Most Influential Australians
Google Scholar's Top 10 Most Cited Mathematicians
Magazine Covers
Notices of the American Mathematical Society
September 2006
Terence Tao: Fields Medalist
The Australian
1990
The Boy Who Could Count
Quanta Magazine
2015
A Life in Math
Records & Feats
Youngest master's graduate in Australian history
Earned M.Sc. from Flinders University at age 16.
Youngest person to take university-level math courses in Australia
Attended mathematics classes at Flinders University from age 8.
First mathematician to win both the Fields Medal and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics
Awarded Fields Medal in 2006 and Breakthrough Prize in 2014.
One of only a few mathematicians to win the Gauss Medal
Awarded the Carl Friedrich Gauss Medal in 2023 for applied mathematics.