French mathematician Michel Talagrand wins the Abel Prize, endowed with 660,000 euros, after revolutionizing the theory of probability and statistics 

French mathematician, Michel Talagrand, has been awarded the Abel Prize, often considered the Nobel of mathematics, by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The 72–year–old, who had suffered from retinal detachment in both eyes as a young boy, was introduced to mathematical puzzles by his father while he was in hospital. Talagrand has since made significant contributions to the understanding of random phenomena and has developed innovative mathematical tools to analyze maximum values in a sequence of random variables. In 2019, he won the Shaw Prize, considered the oriental Nobel. Talagrand, who has also made significant contributions to the study of spin glasses, is known for his work ethic, crediting his success in mathematics to daily work until exhaustion. He is also a marathon runner and bridge player.