Research uses artificial intelligence to map connections between the world’s top mathematicians.

Published in Nature’s Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, the study analyzed the effectiveness of the Fields Medal to make math at its highest level more representative across nations and identities. The result provides a visual, data-driven history of international migration and social networks among math elites, particularly since World War II.

«With so much recent discussion on equality in academia, we came to this study recognizing that math has a reputation of being egalitarian,» says Herbert Chang, a research affiliate in Dartmouth’s Fu Lab and lead author of the paper. «Our results provide a complex and rich story about the world of math especially since the establishment of the Fields Medal.»

The Fields Medal, widely considered the Nobel Prize of mathematics, is awarded every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40. It was first presented in 1936 to honor young mathematicians from groups that were typically underrepresented in top math circles.

According to the Dartmouth mathematicians, the prize has received criticism over its history for rewarding existing power structures rather than making math more inclusive and equitable at the elite level. Against this criticism, the study set out to explore how well the award has lived up to its original promise.

The analysis shows that the Fields Medal has elevated mathematicians of marginalized nationalities, but that the there is also «self-reinforcing behavior,» mostly through mentoring relationships among math elites.

Story Source: Materials provided by Dartmouth College. Original written by David Hirsch. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.