# Two Peking University alumni awarded Fields Medals, 14 PKUers speak at the 2026 ICM

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/two-peking-university-alumni-awarded-fields-medals-14-pkuers-speak-at-the-2026-icm
- Published: 2026-07-24T14:11:00+07:00
- Author: PR Newswire

BEIJING, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians(
ICM) opened in Philadelphia, the U.S., on the morning of July 23 (local time). Peking
University (PKU) alumni Wang Hong and Deng Yu were awarded the 2026 Fields Medals,
one of the most prestigious honors in mathematics, marking a historic milestone 
for Peking University.

 [ ⌊Wang Hong (rightmost) and Deng Yu (leftmost) receiving the Fields Medals.⌉ ](https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/3007660/image1.html)

Wang Hong (rightmost) and Deng Yu (leftmost) receiving the Fields Medals.

The award decision was officially announced by the International Mathematical Union(
IMU), which presents the medal every four years to mathematicians under the age 
of 40, recognizing the influence of their existing work and their promise of future
achievement. Wang and Deng are two of the four mathematicians honored.

The awards are historic for Peking University, as it marks the first time two alumni
from the same cohort—2007—have won the medal in the same year.

Beyond the awards, PKU set another record in the number of scholars invited to speak
at the conference—10 alumni and 4 faculty members.

Wang’s recognition also carries special significance. She becomes only the third
woman in history to receive the Fields Medal, as well as the first Chinese woman
to be awarded the honor.

Wang is best known for [her work with Joshua Zahl](https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.17655)
resolving the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture. The longstanding problem, situated
at the intersection of analysis and geometry, had challenged mathematicians for 
decades and has far-reaching connections across several areas of mathematics.

She is currently a tenured professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques(
IHES).

Deng entered PKU’s School of Mathematical Sciences in 2007 before continuing his
undergraduate studies at MIT. He later received his Ph.D. from Princeton University
and is now a professor at the University of Chicago.

Working with Ma Xiao and Zaher Hani, Deng made a major breakthrough in Hilbert’s
sixth problem. [Their research](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2503.01800) established a 
rigorous mathematical pathway connecting microscopic particle dynamics with macroscopic
kinetic and fluid equations, addressing a challenge first proposed by legendary 
mathematician David Hilbert more than a century ago.

Wang and Deng followed different routes into mathematics, but their journeys began
in the same PKU cohort. Their achievements highlight the growing international presence
of PKU mathematicians.

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