Andrei Okounkov is a prominent mathematician known for his contributions to the fields of mathematical physics, representation theory, and algebraic geometry. He was born in 1969 in Russia and later moved to the United States, where he has held academic positions at various prestigious institutions, including Columbia University. Okounkov is particularly recognized for his work on random matrices and integrable systems, which have applications in both mathematics and theoretical physics. His research has earned him several awards, including the Fields Medal in 2006, one of the highest honors in mathematics, acknowledging his significant impact on the field.