Fields Medallists highlight new wave of Chinese scientists leading global research
Wang Hong and Deng Yu’s historic Fields Medal win illustrates China’s decades-long investment in scientific talent pipeline, say advocates
The International Congress of Mathematicians announced on Thursday that Wang Hong and Deng Yu, both of whom entered the top Chinese university in 2007, were awarded the highest honour for mathematicians under 40.
It is the first time Chinese nationals have received the prestigious award often called the “Nobel Prize of mathematics”.
Mathematician Cai Tianxin, a distinguished professor at Zhejiang University, said China’s research standards had caught up with the West and, with a more flexible academic environment, its young scientists were poised to achieve global recognition.
“[Wang and Deng] are fortunate to have had the opportunity [like the Chinese scientists above] to study at top-tier universities in Europe and the United States in their youth and conduct research under mentors at the global forefront of the field,” he said in an interview.