Chinese mathematicians Deng Yu and Wang Hong were awarded the Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2026. This event marks the first time this prestigious award has been given to Chinese mathematicians. Furthermore, it is the first time two mathematicians with a background in mathematical education in China have received the highest mathematical honor in the same year.
Wang Hong, born in 1991 in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, is currently a professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in France and the Courant Institute of New York University. Her research focuses on harmonic analysis and the theory of geometric measure.
Wang Hong's path to mathematics was not easy. When she enrolled at Peking University at the age of sixteen, she was initially placed in the School of Earth and Space Sciences because the Department of Mathematics at Peking University in her province had only one vacancy, and her scores were insufficient. However, upon learning about the possibility of transferring to mathematics after passing an exam, she seized the opportunity.
Wang Hong noted her long-standing childhood passion for mathematics, which led her to solve some of the most complex problems in the field. When encountering a dead end in her research, she turns to physical exercise to clear her mind and starts over from scratch. She also emphasizes the importance of collaboration, stating that working together allows for different perspectives and mutual support when a problem seems blocked.
In addition to mathematics, Wang Hong has long been interested in drawing. She often makes sketches while contemplating a problem, believing that drawings help her visualize its structure. For her, the connection between drawing and mathematics represents an 'implicit common property.'
Deng Yu, born in 1989 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province in southern China, holds a professorship at the University of Chicago. His research areas cover partial differential equations, hydrodynamics, harmonic analysis, and statistical physics.
His interest in science began with a simple problem from a school textbook. Deng recalls spending an entire day solving this problem. Although it might seem easy to him now, the delight of finding the solution became one of his earliest memories of joy in problem-solving.
Deng demonstrated exceptional talent in both mathematics and Go—a traditional board game he loved since childhood. As a high school student, he participated in the national qualifying tournament for Go in China and missed the chance to become a professional player by just one match. Later, he used the game as a way to relax when tired or stuck on a problem.
During three years of high school, Deng independently studied the complete high school mathematics curriculum. In ninth grade, he took a math test at the level of the Chinese university entrance examination and consistently scored no less than 130 out of 150 points. In 2006, Deng represented China at the 47th International Mathematical Olympiad and won a gold medal. After enrolling in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University, he transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in 2015, he earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Deng is also interested in poetry. When asked what he would do if he hadn't become a mathematician, he replied that he might have written science fiction. For him, these two pursuits share a fundamental similarity: 'You put forward a fictional hypothesis and then conduct extremely rigorous logical deductions and develop a story.'
Since the establishment of the Fields Medal in 1936, only five times among four countries—the USA, France, the UK, and Russia—have two mathematicians from the same country received this award in the same year. Thanks to the victories of Wang and Deng, China has become the fifth country to achieve this milestone.
At the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Philadelphia on July 23, 2026, two Chinese mathematicians, Deng Yu and Wang Hong, were awarded prestigious Fields Medals. This marks the first time that citizens of China have won this high honor.
At the opening ceremony of the congress, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the International Mathematical Union announced that Deng received the medal for his work in partial differential equations (PDEs), and Wang received it for her research in harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory.
Deng Yu, born in 1989 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, is a professor at the University of Chicago. Along with his colleagues, he solved the so-called narrow formulation of Hilbert's Sixth Problem by developing a complete mathematically rigorous logical chain linking microscopic particle systems to the macroscopic Boltzmann equation. This problem was posed by the German mathematician David Hilbert in 1900 and remained unsolved for 125 years, aiming to establish a strict axiomatic foundation for the fundamental laws of physics.
After the press conference, Deng noted that receiving a name after great mathematicians, whom he has always admired, is a huge honor and an important recognition of his work with colleagues in the field of PDEs and probability.
Wang Hong, born in 1991 in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, currently teaches at the Institute for Advanced Studies in France and at the Courant Institute of New York University. As a co-author, Wang solved the Kakeya three-dimensional conjecture, which had puzzled mathematicians for decades. This conjecture relates to the question of what volume is required to cover the trajectory of an 'infinitely thin needle' rotating in all possible directions in space.
Wang's work not only resolved a century-old mathematical problem but also proposed a new analytical approach that may be significant for fields such as radar, remote sensing, and signal processing, where the correlation of wave packets is important. Wang shared that her work combines methods from two fields—harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory.
The achievements of both mathematicians garnered widespread approval in the global community. French President Emmanuel Macron personally called Wang to congratulate her on receiving the Fields Medal, calling it 'truly wonderful news' and a testament to her accomplishments.
Renowned mathematician and the first recipient of the Fields Medal from China, Shin-Tung Yau, emphasized that despite differences in their paths, they demonstrate a tendency toward interdisciplinary integration, which is becoming a key strength in the development of mathematics. Laureate Efim Zelmanov stated that the outstanding achievements of these scientists are convincing proof of China's growing significance in the global mathematical community.
Zhang Jinping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, called these awards a historic breakthrough for Chinese mathematics, noting that it is the first instance of Chinese mathematicians receiving the Fields Medal.
This year, a total of four Fields Medals were awarded. The other laureates are John Pardon, an American mathematician from Stony Brook University, and Jacob Zimmerman, a Canadian mathematician from the University of Toronto. The Fields Medal is the premier international mathematical prize, awarded every four years to two or four young researchers under the age of 40 for outstanding achievements and future potential.
