Chinese Mathematician Makes History With Fields Medal Win
WHO:
NPR - Wang is now a professor at New York University and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France.
NPR - Deng is a professor at the University of Chicago.
CNN - French President Emmanuel Macron personally called Wang to congratulate her on her win.
CNN - Yau Shing-Tung, now a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, expressed hope that Wang and Deng would return to China to teach.
[NPR] - The recipients of the Fields Medal include Chinese mathematicians Hong Wang and Yu Deng, American John Pardon, and Canadian Jacob Tsimerman.
[NPR] - Ulrike Tillmann is the vice-president and incoming president of the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
[NPR] - Hong Wang is originally from Guilin City, China, and Yu Deng is from Shenzhen, China.
WHAT:
NPR - Wang's work on the Kakeya conjecture was done in collaboration with Joshua Zahl from the University of British Columbia.
NPR - Deng's key paper was co-authored with Zaher Hani and Xiao Ma from the University of Michigan.
Phys.org - The Fields Medal is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of mathematics.
CNN - Wang, 35, is the third woman to win the award in its 90-year history.
CNN - Deng, 37, is a professor at the University of Chicago.
[NPR] - Hong Wang is the first Chinese woman to win the Fields Medal, bringing the total count of Chinese-born medalists to three.
[NPR] - The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to between two and four mathematicians under 40, recognizing both achievement and potential.
[NPR] - This year marks only the third time a woman has ever won the Fields Medal in its 90-year history.
[NPR] - Each Fields Medalist receives a gold medal and a cash prize of 15,000 Canadian dollars (approximately $11,000 USD).
[NPR] - Wang resolved the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions, which has opened the door for new theorems and conjectures in various fields.
[NPR] - Deng's research on axiomatizing physics was praised as a leap forward in deriving the basic laws of physics from first principles.
WHERE:
[NPR] - The medals were presented at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia.
[NPR] - Wang and Deng began their higher education at Peking University in Beijing, China.
[NPR] - Wang completed her mathematics PhD at MIT, and Deng completed his PhD at Princeton University.
WHEN:
[NPR] - The Fields Medal was awarded on a Thursday during the International Congress of Mathematicians.
WHY:
CNN - The awards are seen as a milestone in China's ambition to establish itself as a dominant force in science and technology.
CNN - The awards are seen as a landmark achievement for Chinese mathematics and a realization of a dream for generations of Chinese mathematicians to build China into a mathematical powerhouse.
CNN - Deng attributed the rise of young Chinese mathematicians gaining international renown to an “accumulation of knowledge and experience.”
[NPR] - The IMU stated that the achievements of the medalists represent significant contributions to their respective fields.
[NPR] - Deng expressed that his motivation in the field is driven by curiosity and the joy of solving mathematical questions.
HOW:
NPR - The winners were revealed prematurely due to a vulnerability on the International Congress of Mathematicians website.
NPR - The IMU stated that Wang's resolution of the Kakeya conjecture has opened the door for new theorems and conjectures in various fields.
[NPR] - The IMU organized the awards and presented the medals during the ceremony.
[NPR] - The winners were revealed prematurely due to a vulnerability on the IMU website.
(UPDATED July 24, 2026 19:28 UTC)
Wang, now a professor at New York University and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France, and Deng, a professor at the University of Chicago, have both been recognized for their significant contributions to mathematics. Wang's work on the Kakeya conjecture was in collaboration with Joshua Zahl from the University of British Columbia, while Deng's key paper was co-authored with Zaher Hani and Xiao Ma from the University of Michigan. The announcement of these awards, which highlights China's ambition to become a leading force in science and technology, was made prematurely due to a vulnerability on the International Congress of Mathematicians website.
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(UPDATED July 24, 2026 07:50 UTC)
In a significant achievement for Chinese mathematics, Wang has become the third woman ever to win the prestigious Fields Medal, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, with her groundbreaking work on the Kakeya conjecture opening doors for new theorems. French President Emmanuel Macron personally called Wang to congratulate her on her win, while Yau Shing-Tung, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, expressed hope that both Wang and fellow awardee Deng would return to China to teach. Deng, who is a professor at the University of Chicago, noted that the rise of young Chinese mathematicians gaining international recognition is the result of an “accumulation of knowledge and experience.”
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(UPDATED July 23, 2026 22:23 UTC)
Hong Wang has made history as the first Chinese woman to win the Fields Medal, joining fellow recipients Yu Deng, John Pardon, and Jacob Tsimerman, which brings the total count of Chinese-born medalists to three. The medals were presented during the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia, where Wang's groundbreaking work on the Kakeya conjecture and Deng's research on axiomatizing physics were recognized as significant contributions to their fields. Each medalist received a gold medal and a cash prize of 15,000 Canadian dollars, and this year marks only the third time in the 90-year history of the Fields Medal that a woman has been honored.