"A nice end to my career" - Gerd Faltings on the Abel Prize 2026

Meet the 2026 Abel Prize laureate, Professor Gerd Faltings, in a lighthearted and candid interview with Timandra Harkness recorded right after the award ceremony. In this refreshing conversation, Professor Faltings shares his genuine reflections on winning the prize near the end of his career, his preference for working alone in less crowded mathematical fields, and his surprisingly blunt take on the current AI hype. He also addresses the controversial 500-page ABC conjecture proof by his former student Mochizuki and offers his best, no-nonsense advice to future PhD students. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Aiming for a "mercifully short" chat 00:56 – What the Abel Prize means at the end of a career 01:26 – The "best age" for a mathematician 01:56 – Why algebraic and arithmetic geometry? 03:07 – Solving problems vs. earning a living 03:53 – Proving Mordell’s conjecture and finding "America" 05:46 – The joy of working alone in uncrowded fields 06:14 – The influence of Nastold, Szpiro, and Grothendieck 08:02 – Technical deep dive: Tate conjecture & Faltings height 12:26 – Navigating life and career between the US and Germany 13:58 – Why a top researcher chooses to keep teaching 15:44 – Faltings on AI: Probability, chat programs, and "depressing" humans 17:43 – The controversial ABC proof by former student Mochizuki 19:35 – Advice for future PhD students: Choose the advisor you like 20:45 – Outro: Time for the fine wine Video by Reinhardt Film for the Abel Prize.