Part 5/9:
In 1986, Wiles felt a spark of motivation upon hearing Ribet’s proof connecting the conjecture to Fermat’s Last Theorem. This juncture presented an opportunity to pursue his childhood dream professionally. After moving to Princeton University and keeping his work largely private, Wiles devoted himself to proving the link between elliptic curves and modular forms.
His method involved a series of intricate calculations, revealing connections between different classes of elliptic curves and modular forms. Yet, after many years of solitary effort, he required collaboration. In 1993, he began meeting weekly in secret with colleague Nick Katz, who provided critical insights into Wiles’s work.