Chinese scientist became the third woman to receive the main award in the world of mathematics

Chinese mathematicians Hong Wang and Yu Deng became laureates of the Fields Medal for the first time in history - the most prestigious international award in the field of mathematics, which is often called the analog of the Nobel Prize.

The award ceremony took place in the United States of America. Along with the Chinese scientists, American mathematician John Pardon and Canadian researcher Jacob Zimmerman were also awarded. Each of the laureates received a cash prize of 15 thousand Canadian dollars.

The awarding of the Fields Medal to Chinese scientists became a historic event for the country. Prior to this, representatives of China had never become recipients of this award. Special attention was also drawn to the achievement of 35-year-old Hong Wang, who became only the third woman in the entire history of the prize to receive this award.

Hong Wang received the medal for research carried out jointly with mathematician Josh Zahl. Their work is devoted to solving the famous problem of Japanese scientist Soichi Kakeya, formulated back in 1917. The problem is related to determining the minimum area required for a complete rotation of an object around its axis. The researchers considered this problem in three-dimensional space and presented the results of their work last year. According to Hong Wang, such mathematical questions are of fundamental importance, since the patterns that arise in them find application in various fields of science.

The second Chinese laureate, 37-year-old University of Chicago professor Yu Deng, was recognized for research related to solving one of the most famous mathematical problems of the 20th century - Hilbert's sixth problem. It was first formulated by German mathematician David Hilbert in 1900 and is devoted to finding a mathematical description of the behavior of complex systems based on the motion of individual particles.

Yu Deng was able to advance in solving this problem by studying patterns of gas behavior. Commenting on receiving the award, the scientist noted that he considers it a great honor to be in the same ranks with outstanding mathematicians whom he has always admired.

The news of the awarding of the Fields Medal to Chinese researchers caused a wide public resonance in China. Relevant topics quickly became popular on social networks, where publications about the first Chinese laureates collected millions of views. The country's mass media spoke in detail about the scientific careers of the scientists, their research, and the significance of this achievement for the development of the Chinese mathematical school.

The Fields Medal is awarded once every four years to mathematicians under 40 years of age for outstanding contributions to the development of science and is considered one of the most prestigious world awards in the field of fundamental research.

Source: BBC