Fields Medalist Richard E. Borcherds Richard E. Borcherds received a medal for his work in the fields of algebra and geometry, in particular for his proof of the so-called Moonshine conjecture. In 1989, Borcherds was able to cast some more light on the mathematical background of this topic and to produce a proof for the conjecture. The monster group, in contrast, only seemed to be of importance in pure mathematics.
Groups are mathematical objects which can be used to describe the symmetry of structures.
An important theorem of algebra says that all groups, however large and complicated they may seem, all consist of the same components - in the same way as the material world is made up of atomic particles. In his proof, Borcherds uses many ideas of string theory - a surprisingly fruitful way of making theoretical physics useful for mathematical theory. Although still the subject of dispute among physicists, strings offer a way of explaining many of the puzzles surrounding the origins of the universe. They were proposed in the search for a single consistent theory which brings together various partial theories of cosmology. Strings have a length but no other dimension and may be open strings or closed loops.