Kyoto University professor Shigefumi Mori has been elected president of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), becoming the first head of the group from Asia, the university said Tuesday.
Mori, 63, was elected Monday and will begin his four-year term as president in January at a general assembly of the IMU in Gyeongju, South Korea, according to the university's Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences.
The IMU awards the Fields Medal, regarded as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, every four years.
Mori, whose past posts include visiting professor at Harvard University and professor at Nagoya University, was a recipient of the medal in 1990. He was also head of Kyoto University's research institute between 2011 and last March.
Mori said in a statement he has accepted the IMU presidency, which he considers a great responsibility.