space is even-dimensional and orientable, the theorem says it must be simply connected. In odd dimensions, it instead says that such a space is necessarily orientable. He also created the game of Vish in which players compete to find circularity (vicious circles) in dictionary definitions. Fields Medal While at Toronto, he was a colleague of John Charles Fields and acted as secretary to the 1924 International Mathematical Congress, which was hosted by Fields. Fields had been planning the creation of an award for mathematicians, however, when he became ill in 1932, Synge represented Fields at the 1932 International Mathematical Congress, where the medal was approved. After Fields death, Synge completed arrangements with the sculptor of the medal, R. Tait McKenzie and oversaw the disbursement of Fields' estate. The award is now known as the Fields Medal. Honours Synge received many honours for his works. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1943. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 1943 was the first recipient of the society's Henry Marshall Tory Medal, as one of the first mathematicians working in Canada to be internationally recognised for his research in mathematics. In 1954 he was elected an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin. He was president of the Royal Irish Academy from 1961 until 1964. The Royal Society of Canada established the John L. Synge Award in his honour in 1986. John Lighton Synge retired in 1972. During his time at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, about 12% of all workers in the relativity theory studied there. Professor Hermann Bondi, who gave the first J. L. Synge Public Lecture in 1992, had this to say: "Every one of the other 88% has been deeply influenced by his geometric vision and the clarity of his expression". He was awarded the Boyle Medal by the Royal Dublin Society in 1972. During his long scientific career, Synge published over 200 papers and 11 books. He proved the result now known as Synge's theorem. Selected publications Papers Books 1931 The Mathematical Papers of Sir William Rowan Hamilton: Volume 1, Geometrical Optics; Pub: Cambridge 1937 Geometrical Optics: An Introduction to Hamilton's Method; Pub: Cambridge 1942 Geometrical Mechanics and de Broglie Waves; Pub: Cambridge 1942 Principles of Mechanics (with Byron A. Griffith); Pub: McGraw Hill 1949 Tensor Calculus (with Alfred Schild) Mathematical Exposition #5