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24 July 2026•Update: 24 July 2026
Two Chinese mathematicians have become the first Chinese nationals to receive the Fields Medal, one of the world’s most prestigious awards in mathematics, Chinese state media reported Thursday.
Yu Deng of the University of Chicago and Hong Wang of New York University were among four winners announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia.
The International Mathematical Union, which awards the medal every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40 for outstanding achievements, honored Deng for breakthroughs in partial differential equations connecting the behavior of individual particles with large-scale physical systems, including gases and waves.
Wang was recognized for major advances in harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory, including her resolution of the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, a long-standing mathematical problem.
She also became only the third woman to receive the Fields Medal since it was first awarded in 1936.
The other 2026 recipients were John Pardon of Stony Brook University and Jacob Tsimerman of the University of Toronto.
Often described as the mathematical equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Fields Medal is regarded as the discipline’s highest international distinction.
It has been awarded every four years since 1936, with recipients selected for exceptional contributions that have significantly advanced mathematical research.
