Following masters such as Qiu Chengtong and Tao Zhexuan, the Chinese mathematics community ushered in another major historic moment. On July 23, 2026, local time, the quadrennial International Conference of Mathematicians opened in Philadelphia, USA. The conference announced the list of winners of the 2026 Fields Medal. Professor Wang Hong from the French Higher Institute of Science and New York University and Professor Deng Yu from the University of Chicago both received this highest honor. This is also the first time in the history of the award that two young mathematicians from the same country and in the same grade have reached the top at the same time. Both new graduates were born around 1990 and are also 2007 undergraduate alumni of Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences. What problems have they overcome? In February 2025, Wang Hong and his colleagues used a 127-page paper to prove the “Kakeya conjecture” that has plagued the mathematical world for hundreds of years. The proof of the “Kakeya conjecture” is undoubtedly a major breakthrough in the mathematical world in recent years. Among many outstanding Chinese mathematicians, Wang Hong, who proved the “Kakeya conjecture,” won the gold medal at the 10th World Conference of Chinese Mathematicians. Wang Hong has been deeply involved in the field of harmonic analysis and geometric measurement theory for many years. Previously, her 127-page paper with her collaborators solved this geometric problem that evolved from 1917, successfully concluded the classic “hanging needle problem” in three-dimensional space, and its influence radiated to many fields such as Fourier analysis and combinatorial geometry.

Following masters such as Qiu Chengtong and Tao Zhexuan, the Chinese mathematics community ushered in another major historic moment. On July 23, 2026, local time, the quadrennial International Conference of Mathematicians opened in Philadelphia, USA. The conference announced the list of winners of the 2026 Fields Medal. Professor Wang Hong from the French Higher Institute of Science and New York University and Professor Deng Yu from the University of Chicago both received this highest honor. This is also the first time in the history of the award that two young mathematicians from the same country and in the same grade have reached the top at the same time. Both new graduates were born around 1990 and are also 2007 undergraduate alumni of Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences. What problems have they overcome? In February 2025, Wang Hong and his colleagues used a 127-page paper to prove the “Kakeya conjecture” that has plagued the mathematical world for hundreds of years. The proof of the “Kakeya conjecture” is undoubtedly a major breakthrough in the mathematical world in recent years. Among many outstanding Chinese mathematicians, Wang Hong, who proved the “Kakeya conjecture,” won the gold medal at the 10th World Conference of Chinese Mathematicians. Wang Hong has been deeply involved in the field of harmonic analysis and geometric measurement theory for many years. Previously, her 127-page paper with her collaborators solved this geometric problem that evolved from 1917, successfully concluded the classic “hanging needle problem” in three-dimensional space, and its influence radiated to many fields such as Fourier analysis and combinatorial geometry.