Fields Medalist Đặng Vũ Revealed as Manga‑Fan

Professor Đặng Vũ, a 37‑year‑old mathematician who recently received the prestigious Fields Medal for solving a long‑standing problem, has drawn attention for his personal reading habits. Born in 1989, he won an International Mathematical Olympiad gold medal, studied at Beijing University, completed graduate work at MIT and Princeton, and now teaches at the University of Chicago.

A former colleague at New York’s Courant Institute, Jalal Shatah, recalled that Vũ was always seen with a manga volume, preferring the "yuri" genre that depicts romantic relationships between female characters. Vũ explained to the magazine Quanta that such stories are "comfortable, warm and beautiful," helping him feel kinder to himself and more at ease in daily life. The story highlights the contrast between the public image of a top mathematician and his private hobby of reading manga.

The profile also notes the shifting readership of yuri manga, which historically attracted a majority of female readers but now includes a substantial male audience, underscoring Vũ’s place within this broader cultural trend.