Peking University Alumni Awarded Fields Medals

Two Peking University (PKU) alumni, Wang Hong and Deng Yu, were awarded Fields Medals, one of mathematics' most prestigious honors, at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia, U.S. This marks a historic achievement for PKU, as it is the first time two alumni from the same cohort, 2007, have won the medal in the same year.

Wang's award carries additional significance as she is only the third woman in history and the first Chinese woman to receive the Fields Medal. She is recognized for her work, alongside Joshua Zahl, in resolving the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, a long-standing problem bridging analysis and geometry. Wang is currently a professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES). Deng Yu, also from the 2007 PKU cohort, made a breakthrough in Hilbert's sixth problem with collaborators Ma Xiao and Zaher Hani. Their research established a rigorous mathematical connection between microscopic particle dynamics and macroscopic kinetic and fluid equations, addressing a challenge posed over a century ago. Deng studied at MIT and earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University, and is now a professor at the University of Chicago. The Fields Medal is awarded every four years by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) to mathematicians under 40 for their existing work and promise of future achievement. In addition to Wang and Deng, 14 other scholars from PKU, including 10 alumni and 4 faculty members, spoke at the conference, highlighting the university's growing international impact in mathematics.