Who are some of the top mathematicians, currently

[Rabbiter]

In your opinion, who are some of the top 5 mathematicians, currently

[ajb]

Some of the BIG names alive today that have influenced me include (in no particular order)

 

1. Witten.
   
2. Kontsevich.
   
3. Schwarz.
   
4. Manin.
   
5. Drinfel'd.
   

 

and many others. Not only have these men done great works in their own right, these works have influenced modern mathematics in a huge way. They have inspired many other mathematicians.

 

The slant towards Russians in my list is due to the kind of mathematical physics I am interested in.

Edited November 24, 2011 by ajb

[DrRocket]

In your opinion, who are some of the top 5 mathematicians, currently

 

Tau, Yau, C. Fefferman, Perleman, R. Hamilton, Milnor, Thurston, Deligne, Vogan

[shah_nosrat]

In your opinion, who are some of the top 5 mathematicians, currently

 

1. Edward Witten
2. Michio Kaku
3. Andrew Wiles
4. Stephen Hawking
5. Roger Penrose

Yes some of the above are Theoretical Physicists, but as ajb put it, they did spur modern mathematics.