The Connection Between Two Fields Medal Laureates and Peking University Mathematics

On July 23, 2026, at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Philadelphia, USA, Chinese mathematicians Wang Hong and Deng Yu jointly received the Fields Medal. This is the first time a mathematician from China has received this honor, and it also makes China the first country in Asia to produce two Fields Medalists in the same edition. Both studied at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University, and made important breakthroughs in their respective research fields. Wang Hong made key progress in areas such as the threedimensional Kakeya conjecture, the Falconer distance problem, and the Furstenberg set conjecture; Deng Yu achieved results in the rigorous derivation of the Boltzmann equation from hardsphere particle systems. The article points out that Peking University Mathematics has long attached importance to fundamental training, academic exchange, and independent exploration, forming a relatively mature talent cultivation system. The academic community believes that this accumulation has not only shaped a new generation of mathematicians such as Wang Hong and Deng Yu, but also reflects the continuous rise of Chinese mathematics on the international stage.