Alain Connes (; born 1 April 1947) is a French mathematician, and a theoretical physicist, known for his contributions to the study of operator algebras and noncommutative geometry. He is a professor at the , , Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982. Career Source: Academic career timeline: (1966–1970) – Bachelor's degree from the École Normale Supérieure (now part of Paris Sciences et Lettres University). (1973) – doctorate from Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France (1970–1974) – appointment at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris (1975) – Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada (1976–1980) – the University of Paris VI (1979 – present) – the Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies, Bures-sur-Yvette, France (1981–1984) – the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris (1984–2017) – the , Paris (2003–2011) – Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (2012–2020) – the Ohio State University, Columbus Connes was an invited professor at the (2000). Research Connes studies operator algebras. In his early work on von Neumann algebras in the 1970s, he succeeded in obtaining the almost complete classification of injective factors. He also formulated the Connes embedding problem. Following this, he made contributions in operator K-theory and index theory, which culminated in the Baum–Connes conjecture. He also introduced cyclic cohomology in the early 1980s as a first step in the study of noncommutative differential geometry. He was a member of Nicolas Bourbaki. Connes has applied his work in areas of mathematics and theoretical physics, including number theory, differential geometry and particle physics. Awards and honours Connes was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982, the Crafoord Prize in 2001 and the gold medal of the French National Centre for Scientific Research in 2004. He was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in 1974 at Vancouver and in 1986 at Berkeley, and a plenary speaker at the ICM in 1978 at Helsinki. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and several foreign academies and societies, including the Royal Danish and Norwegian Academies of Science and Letters, and the Russian and US National Academies of Sciences. Books Alain Connes and Matilde Marcolli, Noncommutative Geometry, Quantum Fields and Motives, Colloquium Publications, American Mathematical Society, 2007, Alain Connes, André Lichnerowicz, and Marcel-Paul Schutzenberger, Triangle of Thought, translated by Jennifer Gage, American Mathematical Society, 2001, Jean-Pierre Changeux, and Alain Connes, Conversations on Mind, Matter, and