Nigel J. Hitchin, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford and co-director of the Nigel Hitchin – Ngô Bảo Châu Laboratory at ICMAT, has been awarded the 2025 De Morgan Medal by the London Mathematical Society, in recognition of his contributions to differential geometry and its connection with theoretical physics.

Nigel Hitchin delivering a lecture at ICMAT. Image: Laura M. Iraola / ICMAT.

The London Mathematical Society (LMS) has awarded the 2025 De Morgan Medal to Nigel Hitchin, Emeritus Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford and co-director of the Nigel Hitchin – Ngô Bảo Châu Laboratory at ICMAT. This prize, one of the highest honors in British mathematics, is awarded “for his profound contributions to differential geometry, bridging mathematics and theoretical physics, for opening numerous avenues of research and for his service to the mathematical community,” according to the Society.

Hitchin’s work has had a profound impact across a wide spectrum of modern mathematics and theoretical physics. It lies at the intersection of differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and the study of theoretical physics equations. His contributions have been applied in various contexts, such as gauge theories, the Langlands correspondence, mirror symmetry, non-abelian Hodge theory, or higher Teichmüller theory.

“Hitchin’s contributions to mathematics are immense and highly impactful. Among them is the theory of Higgs bundles,” Oscar García-Prada (ICMAT-CSIC).

“Hitchin’s contributions to mathematics are immense and highly impactful. Among them is the theory of Higgs bundles, introduced in one of his seminal papers in 1987. The moduli spaces of Higgs bundles possess a rich geometric structure, including the Hitchin fibration, which appears in another of his 1987 seminal papers. This fibration plays a central role in Ngô Bảo Châu’s proof of the Fundamental Lemma of the Langlands correspondence, which earned him the Fields Medal in 2010,” states Oscar García–Prada, research professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) at ICMAT.

Another of Hitchin’s fundamental theories is so-called generalized geometry, introduced in the early 2000s. “This theory, which in a certain sense unifies complex and symplectic geometry, is still developing and has vast applications,” says García-Prada. He also highlights Hitchin’s construction of the so-called Hitchin components, which have given rise to the emerging theory of higher Teichmüller spaces.

Many of these topics fall within Hitchin’s collaboration with the ICMAT geometry group, led by García-Prada. This interaction has grown especially strong through the ICMAT-Severo Ochoa Laboratories program, in which Hitchin has participated since its first edition in 2012, and whose fourth edition is currently underway, running through 2028. “It is a great privilege and source of pride for ICMAT to have had his continued collaboration over the years, particularly in the context of the ICMAT laboratories program,” García-Prada affirms.

In September 2026, ICMAT will host a scientific congress to celebrate Hitchin’s 80th birthday, “to honor his enormous influence on the international geometry community and, in particular, on the ICMAT team,” García-Prada explains.

From right to left: Nigel Hitchin, accompanied by Oscar Garcia-Prada and Ngô Bảo Châu (coordinator and co-director of the ICMAT-SO Lab, respectively). Image: Ágata Timón / ICMAT.

Nigel Hitchin, a ‘giant’ of mathematical research

Nigel Hitchin is Emeritus Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford (UK). He completed his PhD at the same university under the supervision of Sir Michael Atiyah and later held a postdoctoral position at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS, USA) from 1971 to 1973. After a year at the Courant Institute (USA), he returned to Oxford. He was a professor at the University of Warwick (UK) from 1990 to 1994 and at the University of Cambridge (UK) from 1994 to 1997. In 1997, he returned to Oxford, where he remains today. In a news item published by the university about the award, they state: “There are very few mathematicians with similar impact in both mathematics and theoretical physics. Nigel Hitchin has initiated several new areas of mathematics throughout his career and has built new bridges between mathematics and theoretical physics. He is a true giant in the mathematical research community.”

Among his many honors, now joined by the De Morgan Medal, are the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences (2016), the Whitehead Prize (1980), the Berwick Prize (1990), and the Polya Prize (2002), as well as the Sylvester Medal of the Royal Society (2000). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society and the American Mathematical Society.