For the first time, Chinese mathematicians have been awarded the Fields Medal, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Mathematics.
The International Mathematical Union (IMU) announced the winners of the Fields Medal on July 23 during the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) held in Philadelphia, USA. The recipients include Deng Yu, Wang Hong, John Pardon, and Jacob Zimmerman, with Deng and Wang being Chinese.
The IMU holds the ICM every four years and can award a maximum of four Fields Medals at each event. The award is given exclusively to mathematicians under the age of 40.
Deng Yu, born in 1989, won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 2006. He entered the mathematics department at Peking University in 2007 without an entrance exam, later transferring to MIT and earning his Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is currently a professor at the University of Chicago. Professor Deng received the Fields Medal for his contributions to the field of partial differential equations related to statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics.
Wang Hong, born in 1991, enrolled in the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University at the age of 16 in 2007, later transferring to the School of Mathematical Sciences the following year. Wang is a classmate of Deng at Peking University. He obtained his master's degree from Paris-Saclay University and his Ph.D. from MIT. He is currently a tenured professor at the Institute of Higher Scientific Studies (IHES) in France. Professor Wang has made significant achievements in harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory, notably solving the challenging Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions.
The Observer Network noted, "The simultaneous awarding of the Fields Medal to two Chinese mathematicians is a groundbreaking event in the history of Chinese mathematics."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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