Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones (31 December 1952 – 6 September 2020) was a New Zealand mathematician known for his work on von Neumann algebras and knot polynomials. He was awarded a Fields Medal in 1990 and famously wore a New Zealand rugby jersey when he gave his acceptance speech in Kyoto.

Honours and awards

1990 – awarded the Fields Medal 

1990 – elected Fellow of the Royal Society 

1991 – awarded the Rutherford Medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand 

1991 – awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Auckland 

1992 – elected to the Australian Academy of Science as a Corresponding Fellow 

1992 – awarded a Miller Professorship at the University of California Berkeley 

2002 – appointed Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) in the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, for services to mathematics 

2009 – his DCNZM redesignated to a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2009 Special Honours 

2012 – elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society