King Harald hands out math awards

An American and a French citizen accepted the 6 million kroner (US$1.2 million, euro756,000) Abel Prize for mathematics on Tuesday at a ceremony praising their achievements.

Norway's King Harald V gave the awards to John Griggs Thompson 75, who teaches at the University of Florida, and Belgian-born Jacques Tits, 77, a professor emeritus at College de France in Paris who became a French citizen in 1974.

Abel Committee Chairman Kristian Seip said they shared the prize for their outstanding achievements in algebra and especially for their shaping of modern group theory. The theory _ also called the science of symmetries _ can solve such every day challenges such as a Rubik's Cube, or be used in physics, computer science and geometry. © GPD AP