Benedict Gross

Benedict H. (Dick) Gross stands as one of America's preeminent mathematicians, with groundbreaking contributions to number theory and representation theory. After completing his undergraduate studies at Harvard in 1971, he pursued music studies in Africa and Asia on a Sheldon fellowship before earning his MSc from Oxford as a Marshall Scholar in 1974 and his PhD from Harvard under John Tate in 1978. His most celebrated work includes the Gross-Zagier theorem on L-functions of elliptic curves, developed with collaborator Don Zagier. His illustrious career at Harvard began in 1985, where he served as Department Chair and Dean of Harvard College from 2003 to 2007. His exceptional contributions have earned him numerous prestigious honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 1986, the Cole Prize from the American Mathematical Society in 1987, and election to both the National Academy of Sciences and American Philosophical Society. Beyond research, he has made significant contributions to mathematics education, co-authoring "The Magic of Numbers" to introduce mathematical thinking to non-specialists. Now retired from Harvard, he continues his mathematical pursuits as a part-time professor at UC San Diego, where he maintains his lifelong dedication to advancing mathematical understanding.