北京时间7月23日，中国数学家王虹和邓煜在2026年国际数学家大会开幕式上获得菲尔兹奖[1]。这是中国籍数学家首次获得该奖项，也是中国数学家首次在同一届菲尔兹奖中获得两枚奖章[1]。菲尔兹奖每4年颁发一次，每次获奖者不超过4位，用于奖励未满40岁的杰出数学学者[1]。
王虹与合作者证明了困扰数学界逾百年的三维挂谷猜想[1]，邓煜与合作者在希尔伯特第六问题上取得关键突破[1]。两位获奖者均毕业于北京大学数学科学学院，均为2007年北大新生[1]。从2007年进入北大算起至今已近20年[1]。北大数院师生对此成果寄予厚望，张继平表示"不一定再用20年，我们就能从本土培养出菲尔兹奖获得者"[1]。两位获奖者所在的2007至2010级被称作"白金一代"或"新黄金一代"，是继1999级到2001级"黄金一代"之后的又一批数学人才梯队[1]。
Chinese mathematicians Wang Hong and Deng Yu made history on July 23, 2026, when they were awarded the Fields Medal at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians, becoming the first Chinese nationals to receive this prestigious honor and the first Chinese mathematicians to win two medals in the same Fields Medal cycle [1]. Wang and Deng, both graduates of Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences, have made groundbreaking contributions to long-standing problems in mathematics [1].
Wang Hong's team successfully proved the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, a problem that has puzzled the mathematical community for over a century [1]. Meanwhile, Deng Yu and his collaborators achieved a crucial breakthrough on Hilbert's sixth problem [1]. Both mathematicians entered Peking University in 2007 as freshmen, marking nearly two decades of development within China's mathematical research ecosystem [1]. The Fields Medal, awarded once every four years to no more than four exceptional mathematicians under the age of 40, represents one of mathematics' highest recognitions [1].
The dual achievement has sparked optimism within China's mathematical community. Zhang Jiping, a senior figure in Chinese mathematics, expressed confidence that "we may not need another twenty years to cultivate Fields Medal winners from our own talent pipeline" [1]. This sentiment reflects the strength of Peking University's recent cohorts, with students from the 2007 to 2010 admission years being referred to as the "platinum generation" or "new golden generation" in academic circles [1].