Raz, who researches computational complexity theory, works on Boolean and algebraic circuit complexity, communication complexity, probabilistically checkable proofs and interactive proof systems. The award cited his recent work studying “relations between communication complexity and information complexity of communication protocols” and his work on “unconditional lower bounds on the number of samples needed for learning, under memory constraints.”

The investigator awards in mathematics, physics, astrophysics and theoretical computer science provide $100,000 annually for an initial five years to “undertake long-term study of fundamental questions,” according to the foundation; an additional $10,000 per year is provided to the recipient’s department. The awards can be renewed for an additional five years.

Since the inauguration of the investigator awards in 2012, several Princeton researchers have received this honor: Manjul Bhargava, Igor Rodnianski, Amit Singer, Christopher Skinner and Allan Sly, professors of mathematics; Bogdan Andrei Bernevig, Steven Gubser and Frans Pretorius, professors of physics; Eve Ostriker and Anatoly Spitkovsky, professors of astrophysical sciences; and Sanjeev Arora and Moses Charikar, professors of computer science.