Noam Elkies

Noam David Elkies (born August 25, 1966) is an American mathematician and chess master. Along with A. O. L. Atkin, he extended Schoof's algorithm to create the Schoof–Elkies–Atkin algorithm. In 1993, when he was 26-years-old, he became the youngest full professor in the the history of Harvard University.

Early life

In 1981, at age 14, Elkies was awarded a gold medal at the 22nd International Mathematical Olympiad, receiving a perfect score of 42 and becoming one of just 26 participants to attain this score, and the youngest ever to do so. Elkies graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1982 and went on to Columbia University, where he won the Putnam competition at the age of sixteen years and four months, making him one of the youngest Putnam Fellows in history. He was a Putnam Fellow two more times during his undergraduate years. After graduating as valedictorian at age 18 with a summa cum laude in Mathematics and Music, he earned his Ph.D. at the age 20 under the supervision of Benedict Gross and Barry Mazur at Harvard University.