The Fields Medal has been awarded to two mathematicians of Chinese origin, Hong Wang and Yu Deng, alongside John Pardon and Jacob Tsimerman. Each laureate receives 15,000 Canadian dollars for breakthroughs addressing century-old problems: Wang (with Josh Zahl) solved a Kakeya-type problem in three-dimensional space, while Deng made major progress on Hilbert's Sixth Problem via gas dynamics. Wang, 35, is the third woman to win the medal, and the awards sparked widespread reaction and pride across Chinese social media.
Historic Fields Medals: Two Chinese Mathematicians Awarded For Solving Century-Old Problems
Mathematicians Yu Deng and Hong Wang are China's first Fields Medal recipients [Getty Images]
Two mathematicians originally from China, Hong Wang and Yu Deng, have been awarded the Fields Medal — one of the highest honors in mathematics — alongside John Pardon of the United States and Jacob Tsimerman of Canada. Each laureate receives 15,000 Canadian dollars (about $10,500; £8,000) in recognition of work that resolves mathematical problems that have stood for more than a century.
Wang and Deng Break New Ground
Wang, 35, who holds academic posts in the United States and France, is only the third woman ever to receive the Fields Medal. Deng, 37, is a professor at the University of Chicago. The awards were presented on Thursday in the United States, at a moment when advances in artificial intelligence are prompting wider discussion about the future of complex human computation.
What They Solved
Hong Wang (with Josh Zahl) addressed a Kakeya-type question posed by Japanese mathematician Soichi Kakeya in 1917: when a slender object like a pencil is rotated so it turns fully around, what is the minimal area it must sweep out? Wang and her collaborator Josh Zahl reexamined the problem in three-dimensional space rather than restricting it to a plane, and published their breakthrough last year.
Yu Deng was recognized for decisive progress on ideas connected to Hilbert's Sixth Problem, posed by David Hilbert in 1900. This problem asks how one can rigorously derive the macroscopic behavior of a system from the motion of its microscopic particles. Deng approached the question through the study of gas dynamics and kinetic theory, producing results that advanced long-standing understanding in the area.
Reaction And Significance
The awards generated strong attention on Chinese social media. Hashtags such as 'Fields Medal' and 'First Chinese Mathematicians To Win Fields Medals' drew millions of views across platforms from Weibo to Rednote, with users posting comments like 'Pride of all Chinese people' and 'We are witnessing history.' Chinese media published extensive profiles covering the winners' education, research, and what the honors mean for the national scientific community.
'If this conjecture fascinates people so much, it is because this kind of phenomenon shows up naturally in problems from very different fields,' Wang told AFP. Deng described the recognition as 'a really great honour to have my name listed after all those great mathematicians I've always been admiring.'
Backgrounds
Wang was born in 1991 in Guilin, Guangxi. She skipped two grades in primary school and entered Peking University in 2007 at age 16, originally studying earth sciences before transferring to mathematics. She continued her studies in France at Paris-Sud University and the École Polytechnique, earned a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and now holds posts at New York University and France's Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES).
Deng also began his higher education at Peking University in 2007, transferred to MIT in 2009, completed a doctorate at Princeton University, and joined the University of Chicago faculty in 2024.
On the evening of the awards, French President Emmanuel Macron phoned Wang to congratulate her, saying she 'embodies the excellence of our research and our training' and urging people to 'Choose France for science.'
About The Prize
The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to outstanding mathematicians under the age of 40. Beyond the monetary award, the medal is a recognition of work that opens new directions in mathematical research and often has long-ranging implications across science and engineering.
Why This Matters: These results resolve mathematical questions that have guided research for decades and demonstrate sustained international collaboration and training spanning China, Europe, and North America.
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