王虹因在挂谷猜想上的突破性研究成果获得2024年菲尔兹奖[1]。这位数学家的成长道路并非一帆风顺，在北大数学系本科阶段，她曾感到迷茫和挫败[1]。随后赴法国攻读双硕士学位，在导师古思和伊万的指导下才确立了明确的研究方向[1]。
王虹用12年时间完成本硕博学位，其中博士阶段耗时5年，2019年以28岁的年纪毕业[1]。她在巴黎综合理工学院和巴黎第十一大学（现巴黎-萨克雷大学）完成双硕士学位[1]。在博士论文中，王虹提出的"多线性方法"与陶哲轩、卡茨提出的三维挂谷猜想框架相契合[1]。
王虹与合作者约书亚·扎尔共同证明了三维挂谷猜想：三维空间中任何包含各方向单位线段的集合，其Minkowski维数和Hausdorff维数均必须等于3[1]。她在普林斯顿完成博士后期间完成了这一重要工作，随后在美国学术界快速晋升，用4年时间从助理教授晋升至正教授，远超过正常的6年副教授加5年正教授的进度[1]。她先后在UCLA和纽约大学任教[1]，同时于34岁获得菲尔兹奖，并担任法国高等科学研究所（IHES）终身教授[1]。
Wang Hong, a Chinese mathematician, has been awarded the Fields Medal at age 34, capping a distinctive academic journey marked by early self-doubt and subsequent breakthrough achievements [1]. Her recognition comes following her pivotal work on the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, which she solved in collaboration with Joshua Zarl [1].
Wang's path to mathematical prominence was unconventional. During her undergraduate years at Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences, she experienced periods of confusion and struggle, later describing the experience as merely "barely surviving" [1]. After completing her bachelor's degree, she pursued a dual master's program at École Polytechnique and Paris-Saclay University, where she clarified her research direction under the mentorship of advisors Gustavo and Evans [1]. Her doctoral work took five years, with her overall progression from undergraduate to doctorate spanning twelve years, completing her PhD at age 28 in 2019 [1].
The breakthrough that defined Wang's career centered on the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions. Working with collaborator Joshua Zarl, she proved that any set in three-dimensional space containing unit line segments in all directions must have both Minkowski dimension and Hausdorff dimension equal to 3 [1]. Her doctoral research introduced a multilinear method that aligned with the theoretical framework developed by Terence Tao and Nets Katz for approaching this long-standing problem [1].
Wang's academic advancement in the United States proceeded at an accelerated pace. She ascended from assistant professor to full professor within four years, substantially outpacing the conventional timeline of six years at associate level followed by five years at full professor rank [1]. Her positions included appointments at UCLA and New York University before achieving her current role as a tenured professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES) in France [1]. Paris-Saclay University, where she completed her master's studies, ranked second globally in mathematics in the 2025 ARWU World Rankings [1].
