Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman announced today that he is rejecting the $1 million Clay Mathematics Institute prize for his recent solution of the Poincare conjecture. Perelman has been quoted saying he believes his contribution in proving the conjecture was no greater than that of a U.S. mathematician named Richard Hamilton, who first suggested an approach that Perelman utilized in his solution. He also indicated that his great dislike for the “organized mathematical community” was a large factor.
For more details see: AP News report | Washington Post report | New York Times report | MAA report. A fascinating and quite convincing portrait of Perelman is drawn in Masha Gessen’s 2009 book Perfect Rigor.