Two Chinese mathematicians, Hong Wang and Yu Deng, have made history by winning the Fields Medal, the highest honour in mathematics, for the first time ever for Chinese nationals. They share the award with John Pardon from the US and Jacon Tsimerman from Canada.
The Fields Medal, often described as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, is awarded every four years to outstanding mathematicians under 40 years old. Each winner receives 15,000 Canadian dollars.
Groundbreaking Solutions to Century-Old Problems
- Hong Wang, aged 35, solved a problem first posed in 1917 by Japanese mathematician Soichi Kakeya involving the smallest area swept by a rotating pencil in three-dimensional space. Wang’s work, done with colleague Josh Zahl, was published last year and has drawn significant attention.
- Yu Deng, aged 37 and a professor at the University of Chicago, addressed Hilbert's Sixth Problem from 1900, which concerns calculating the behaviour of a whole system based on the movement of individual particles. Deng focused on the behaviour of gases to solve this problem.
Recognition and Impact
Wang is the third woman ever to receive the Fields Medal. Born in Guilin, China, she was admitted to Peking University at 16, later studying in France and the US. She currently holds positions at New York University and France's Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques.
Deng also started his education at Peking University before transferring to MIT and earning a doctorate from Princeton University. He has been teaching at the University of Chicago since 2024.
Their achievements have sparked widespread celebration on Chinese social media, with millions viewing related hashtags. French President Emmanuel Macron personally congratulated Wang, highlighting her as a symbol of scientific excellence.
The awards were presented in the US amid growing interest in the role of artificial intelligence in mathematical research.
