Four young researchers shaping 21st-century mathematics. One of them was first mentored by, and later became a colleague of Princeton University professor Zoltán Szabó.
The Fields Medal, one of the most prestigious distinctions in mathematics, is awarded to researchers under the age of 40 who have already made a lasting impact on the development of their field at an early stage of their careers.
 The Fields Medal was established in 1936 and has been awarded every four years at the International Congress of Mathematicians since 1950. The medal recognizes not only outstanding scientific achievements already accomplished but also the exceptional creative potential to shape the future of mathematics in the decades to come. Fields Medal recipients are widely regarded as among the most influential mathematicians of their generation. Among previous laureates, several have also become well known beyond the mathematical community. One of them is Australian–American "superstar" mathematician Terence Tao, who, at first as a child, had a remarkable connection with the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős. His research spans numerous areas of mathematics, including harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics, and number theory, while his extraordinary early talent and extensive international collaborations have also contributed to his widespread recognition. In 2014, Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman and the first Iranian to receive the Fields Medal. |
Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman famously declined the award in 2006. He had previously proved the Poincaré Conjecture, one of the most celebrated problems in mathematics, and later also turned down the US$1 million Millennium Prize. British mathematician Michael Francis Atiyah (1929–2019), regarded as one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century, is renowned for his pioneering work in topology, differential geometry, and mathematical analysis. His discoveries have also had a profound impact on modern theoretical physics. French mathematician Alexander Grothendieck (1928–2014) is widely considered one of the greatest figures in modern algebraic geometry, having fundamentally transformed the field through his revolutionary ideas. The youngest Fields Medal recipient to date remains French mathematician Jean-Pierre Serre, who received the award in 1954 at the age of just 27 for his groundbreaking contributions to algebraic topology. Serre is regarded as one of the most versatile mathematicians in history, whose work has had a profound influence not only on algebraic topology but also on algebraic geometry and number theory. This year's Fields Medals were presented at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia. The 2026 awards have been described as historically significant even beyond the mathematical community: the list of laureates includes only the third woman in the nearly ninety-year history of the Fields Medal, and marks the first time that two Chinese-born mathematicians have received the honour in the same year.
The four laureates work in areas of mathematics that may seem far from one another – from partial differential equations and harmonic analysis to topology and modern number theory. Yet leading members of the mathematical community point to a common thread in their achievements: each has made decisive contributions to solving problems that, alongside many other scientific challenges, have long ranked among the most important open questions in mathematics.
Yu Deng, a researcher at the University of Chicago, received the Fields Medal for his groundbreaking contributions to partial differential equations and mathematical physics. His work on the mathematics of gases has established a new connection between their microscopic description – based on the behaviour of individual molecules – and their macroscopic description. Deng's research has advanced our understanding of how the microscopic dynamics of gases give rise to the macroscopic equations used to model phenomena such as fluid flow and air movement. His results are regarded as one of the most significant breakthroughs in kinetic theory and the theory of partial differential equations, providing answers to questions that have remained open for more than a century and marking a major advance in kinetic theory.
"I was really happy, not just for myself, but for the field I'm representing. Partial differential equations and kinetic theory are beautiful subjects, and I'm glad this work is being recognized," 37-year-old Yu Deng remarked in an interview with Nature following the award ceremony.
Hong Wang is both a professor at New York University and a researcher at the French Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS). She was awarded the Fields Medal for solving the three-dimensional Kakeya Conjecture, one of the best-known open problems in harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory that had remained unresolved for more than half a century. At its heart, the Kakeya problem asks how much space is needed to rotate a needle through every possible direction. Despite its seemingly simple formulation, the problem has deep connections to Fourier analysis, partial differential equations, and several other areas of mathematics. Wang's solution is widely regarded as a landmark achievement. Following Maryam Mirzakhani (2014) and Maryna Viazovska (2022), Wang is only the third woman in the history of the Fields Medal to receive the honour. Her award has therefore also been widely seen as an important milestone in the recognition of women's contributions to mathematics.
Speaking at the post-award press conference, the 35-year-old Wang described the Fields Medal as "a tremendous honor" and expressed her hope that her work would inspire more young people, especially young women, to pursue mathematics. "Mathematics is beautiful because it allows us to understand structures that are often invisible at first sight," she added.
John Pardon, a professor at Stony Brook University (the flagship institution of the State University of New York (SUNY) system) and a faculty member of the university's Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, received the Fields Medal for his fundamental contributions to symplectic geometry and low-dimensional topology. His work in topology and knot theory has provided mathematicians with powerful new tools for studying geometric objects that can be continuously deformed while preserving their essential properties. Today, his results at the intersection of topology and geometry are regarded as foundational to modern geometry. According to a profile published by Quanta Magazine, the 36-year-old Pardon is known as a remarkably private and modest mathematician. Colleagues describe him as quiet and unassuming, and he rarely gives interviews. Not accidentally, Quanta's article is titled "The Quietest Mathematician Has Always Been Worth Listening To" and adds, "John Pardon sees connections between different areas of math that others don’t. For that vision, he’s now been awarded a Fields Medal". Pardon's undergraduate thesis at Princeton University was supervised by Zoltán Szabó, Princeton's Henry Burchard Fine Professor of Mathematics, who also maintains close professional ties with our Rényi Institute of Mathematics. What began as a mentor–student relationship later evolved into a collegial one when Pardon joined Princeton as a professor, where the two worked together between 2016 and 2023. Their professional connection is highlighted in Princeton University's official announcement of the 2026 Fields Medals which can be clicked HERE.
Jacob Tsimerman, a professor at the University of Toronto received the Fields Medal for his outstanding contributions at the interface of algebraic geometry and number theory, opening new directions in modern arithmetic research. In addition to playing a decisive role in the proof of the André–Oort Conjecture, he has developed powerful new methods (particularly by connecting transcendence theory with arithmetic geometry) that have proved applicable to a wide range of long-standing open problems. His work exemplifies the increasingly close interplay between different branches of modern mathematics. In an interview published by the San Francisco Chronicle following the award ceremony, the 37-year-old Tsimerman reflected on the growing impact of artificial intelligence on mathematical research:
"AI will become superhuman at mathematics in a matter of years. I don't think people realize how quickly this is coming. It's not decades away, it's years. I think this will fundamentally change what it means to do mathematics."
The full interview was published by the San Francisco Chronicle following the Fields Medal ceremony. Clich HERE to read it.
In keeping with tradition, each of the four Fields Medal laureates delivered a Fields Medal Lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians. Recordings of all four lectures have been made available by the ICM and can be viewed one by one HERE.
Photo credit: Simons Foundation, CGTN