Chinese mathematicians Wang Hong and Deng Yu win 2026 Fields Medals

At the opening of the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia on 23 July, two Chinese mathematicians were awarded the Fields Medal, the highest honour in mathematics. Wang Hong, a 35‑year‑old professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques and New York University, received the medal for solving the three‑dimensional Kakeya conjecture with Joshua Zahl – she also became only the third woman ever to win the prize. Deng Yu, a 37‑year‑old professor at the University of Chicago, was recognised for his work on Hilbert’s sixth problem, deriving the Boltzmann equation from particle dynamics. Both are alumni of Peking University, making them the first Chinese scholars to receive Fields Medals and the first pair of Chinese laureates in a single edition, placing China among the five nations that have ever secured multiple medals in one cycle. Each medal carries a CAD 15,000 prize. The awards prompted widespread coverage in Chinese media and remarks from international figures, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who congratulated Wang. The dual win underscores China’s growing strength in fundamental research and the value of global scientific collaboration.