The International Mathematical Union (IMU) announced the recipients of the 2026 Fields Medals on Thursday at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia. The four winners are Hong Wang, Yu Deng, John Pardon, and Jacob Tsimerman. Wang, a researcher at NYU and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, is the first Chinese woman to receive the prize and the third woman in the award's 90-year history.
The IMU cited Wang for her work on the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions, a century-old mathematical problem. Yu Deng, a researcher at the University of Chicago, was recognized for his work establishing mathematical rules regarding the laws of physics. They are the first two Chinese scholars to win the medal simultaneously. Previous winners of Chinese descent include Yau Shing-Tung in 1982 and Terence Tao in 2006.
The other two recipients are John Pardon, an American recognized for contributions to topology and geometry, and Jacob Tsimerman, a Canadian honored for his work in algebraic geometry. The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40. According to the IMU, the awards recognize both past achievement and future potential in the field of mathematics.
The announcement followed a technical vulnerability on the International Congress of Mathematicians website that allowed the winners' names to be discovered before the official ceremony. Reactions on Chinese social media included messages of celebration regarding the nationality and gender of the winners. The awards occurred amid ongoing discussions regarding the movement of scholars between China and North America, with some researchers noting changes in the international academic environment.