Wang Hong is the third woman to win in the medal’s 90-year history
Wang Hong, a mathematician originally from China’s Guilin City, became the first Chinese woman to win the Fields Medal on Thursday, when the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia presented the prize to her and three other recipients. The award, often called the Nobel Prize of mathematics, is given every four years to between two and four mathematicians under 40.
Wang is the third woman to win the Fields Medal in its 90-year history. She joins Yu Deng, a researcher at the University of Chicago, as the first time two Chinese nationals have simultaneously received the prize. The other recipients were American mathematician John Pardon and Canadian mathematician Jacob Tsimerman.
Wang, who works at both New York University and France’s Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, is recognized for resolving a century-old problem known as the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions, together with the University of British Columbia’s Joshua Zahl. The International Mathematical Union said that “solving this problem has opened the door for a host of theorems and conjectures in harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, geometric measure theory and other fields.”
In a video released by the IMU, Wang recalled solving her first math problem as a child. “I felt quite happy when I figured out the answer, I feel like I have a clearer understanding of the subject,” she said. She began her higher education at Beijing’s Peking University before continuing post-graduate study in France and completing her mathematics PhD at MIT.
Yu Deng, originally from Shenzhen, researches at the University of Chicago. His work on axiomatizing physics — establishing mathematical rules that could be used to explain branches of the science — was praised by the IMU. His key paper was co-authored by Zaher Hani and Xiao Ma at the University of Michigan. The IMU described Deng’s work as “a leap forward in a centuries-long quest by mathematicians and physicists to derive the basic laws of physics from first principles.”
Deng also began his education at Peking University before transferring to MIT and completing his PhD at Princeton. In a video provided by the IMU, he said: “Our understanding of the physical universe on the mathematical level is still extremely small.” He added: “The thing that keeps me in this field is the happiness when your plan works perfectly, [and] you are able to solve the questions you are faced with.” Like Wang, he now works outside of China.
John Pardon, an American mathematician, was cited by the IMU for his contributions in topology and geometry. Jacob Tsimerman, from Canada, was praised for extending the scope of logical frameworks from abstract fields of mathematics into algebraic geometry.
Ulrike Tillmann, vice-president and incoming president of the International Mathematical Union, told NPR: “All four mathematicians have made tremendous contributions to their respective fields.” She added: “It’s also wonderful to see another woman winning the Medal. We should have the feeling that it has become a normal thing that women contribute to their fields at the highest level, including the Fields Medal.”
Each Fields Medalist receives a gold medal depicting the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes and a cash prize of 15,000 Canadian dollars (roughly $11,000 USD). The IMU also announced other top honors, including Oxford University’s Graeme Segal (Chern Medal) and the University of Washington’s Shayan Oveis Gharan (Abacus Medal).
The recipients’ names were first revealed prematurely after a vulnerability on the International Congress of Mathematicians website allowed coders to uncover the four winners’ names ahead of the official ceremony on Thursday.
On Chinese social media, the news was received by many with joy. “Two Chinese mathematicians!” said one Guangdong-based Chinese social media user. “And one is a Chinese woman!” Another user from Henan province said: “This is what you call truly bringing honor to your country.”
Although Wang and Deng began their higher education at Beijing’s Peking University, their training and subsequent research was done in the United States and Europe. For some on China’s RedNote social media app, the awards raise questions about how China’s research capabilities stack up to the United States’. “Why don’t we reflect on why everyone leaves for the United States after completing their undergraduate degree in China?” said a user from Tianjin. “Breaking up the monopoly of academic cliques is the direction Chinese higher education should take,” said one RedNote user from Guangdong.
Despite criticisms of a brain drain from China to the U.S., the awards come at a time when several high-profile Chinese scholars have returned home, some citing an increasingly hostile academic environment in America. In 2025, Beijing launched a special “K-visa,” aimed at attracting foreign tech experts. A project called QiMing, run by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, also seeks to recruit foreign and overseas Chinese STEM talent.
Yau Shing-Tung was the first ethnic Chinese mathematician to win the Fields Medal in 1982, while Australian-born Terence Tao won in 2006. The 2026 awards bring the total count of Chinese-born medalists to three.