The American Clay Mathematics Institute has awarded the Russian maths genius Grigori Perelman a million dollars for proving what is known as the Poincare Conjecture, a milestone theorem which opens up a whole new field in geometry. The Institute says such breakthroughs happen once in a millennium and cannot be allowed to pass unrewarded. Forty-six-year-old Mr. Perelman meantime is a known recluse who has already rejected a gold medal and cash from the latest World Mathematical Congress for his remarkable discovery. He has spent the period since 2006 in a remote suburban location without contact with colleagues. His former superior at the Steklov Mathematical Institute Professor Sergei Kislyakov warns the Clay Institute that Dr. Perelman is likely to ignore his latest international honour.
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