Analysis:

Tao Zhexuan (Tao Zhexuan) gave an hour-long lecture at ICM in 2002, and was a popular candidate for Fields Prize in 2006 and the winner of Clay Prize in 2003. He is the youngest gold medalist in IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad) history (1988, 13 years old). Those who study harmonic analysis and PDE can go to Tao's homepage () and look at his list of publications-it's really amazing. His Chinese name is Tao Zhexuan, although he can't speak a word of Chinese. The following passage is transferred from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) homepage. Look at ucla.edu/spotlight/archive/_2000_2001/fac0900 _ tao's immigration from Hong Kong to Australia. Born in 1975, he went to high school at the age of 8. Attended three consecutive IMO meetings. 1986, in Warsaw, Tao won the bronze medal with 1 1; 1987, in Havana, he won the silver medal; 1988, Canberra, he finally won the gold medal. In this regard, see 1992 17-year-old Tao obtained a bachelor's degree from flinders university and was a first-class student. Later, he won the Fulbright Graduate Award and went to Princeton University. His mentor is E.M. Stein, a Wolff Prize winner. Stein said that Tao is a once-in-a-century genius (heard from his peers at the ICM 2002 "Harmony Analysis and Its Application" satellite conference in Hangzhou, but not confirmed). 20-year-old, Ph.D., teaching assistant at UCLA. 24-year-old, full professor at UCLA. By the way: Tao's brother Charles Fei Fuman is a more striking figure: at the age of 20, he got a doctorate from Princeton University, at the age of 22, he became the youngest full professor in American history, and at the age of 29, he won the Fields Medal. Reference: upcxin.bokee/blog/1252769 Wiki: Tao Zhexuan Tao Zhexuan (nicknamed Terry, born in Adelaide, July 1975) is a Chinese mathematician who mainly studies harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorial mathematics, analytic number theory and representation theory. 1992- 1996, a graduate student at Princeton university, and his tutor is elias stein. He is now a tenured professor of mathematics at UCLA and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Laura and son William. Research and Awards 1986, 1987, 1988, Tao Zhexuan was the youngest contestant in the International Mathematical Olympiad, winning the bronze medal, silver medal and gold medal in turn. He won the gold medal before 13 years old, and this record has not been equaled so far. He won the Salem Prize in 2000 and the Boxer Memorial Award in 2002 (B? Cher), and was awarded the Cray Research Award in 2003 in recognition of his contribution to analysis, including hanging valley conjecture and wave diagram. In 2005, he won the Levi L Conant Award (together with Allen Knudsen). In 2004, Ben Green and Tao Zhexuan published a paper on Yin Gao, claiming that the prime number arithmetic progression has any length.

Although he is known as a "mathematical prodigy", although he won the bronze medal, silver medal and gold medal in the international Olympic mathematics competition from1to 13, although he received his doctorate from Princeton University at the age of 2 1 and became a professor at the University of California at the age of 24, although he won the Salem Prize in 2000 and 2000.

Tao Zhexuan, who won the Fields Medal at the International Mathematicians Congress the day before yesterday, became a teacher who taught children to count at the age of two.

This well-deserved "mathematical prodigy", a mathematician from China who just turned 3 1, is the youngest among the four people who won the Nobel Prize in Mathematics this year, and the second China person who won this honor after Qiu Chengtong 24 years ago.

The day before yesterday, Madrid, Spain. The quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians is held here. With the attention of nearly 4,000 mathematicians from more than 20 countries and regions, an elegant and comely young man from China received the Nobel Prize in global mathematics-Fields Prize from John Ball, President of the International Mathematical Union.

He is Tao Zhexuan, a China mathematician who is only 3 1 year old.

What award is Fields-

Great "Nobel Prize in Mathematics"

"The Fields Prize is a Nobel Prize in mathematics, which is a great prize." In an interview yesterday, Wu Wenjun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a contemporary mathematician, said.

On the front, the Greek mathematician Archimedes has a profound vision; On the back is engraved "Mathematicians all over the world are proud of making new contributions to knowledge." It is this gold medal and the prize of $65,438+$0,500 that constitute all the prizes of the Fields Prize. Material value seems to be a far cry from the Nobel Prize in absent mathematics. However, no matter from its authority, international influence or academic influence, this mathematics prize is worthy of the Nobel Prize in the field of mathematics.

First of all, it is awarded by the International Mathematical Union at the International Congress of Mathematicians held every four years. Zhang Gongqing, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of Peking University Institute of Mathematics, told reporters: "This is an alliance of top mathematicians all over the world." Secondly, each Fields Medal is awarded to a maximum of four people at the same time. Since 1936 won the prize for the first time, only 49 people in the world have won the prize, including 4 winners. Thirdly, it is a good "window" to peep into the mainstream of modern mathematics. The famous mathematician and one of the founders of Bourbaki School comprehensively summarized the frontiers of various branches of pure mathematics in the past 20 years in the paper "On the Current Trends of Pure Mathematics" in 1978. Among the branches of 13 listed by him, some important works of 12 were done by the winners of Fields Prize.

Therefore, Tao Zhexuan, who won this award this year for his research achievements in harmonic analysis, even though he was known as a "mathematical prodigy" when he was young and won many awards, he couldn't even believe it after learning that he had won the Fields Prize-"This award is a great honor for me".

Who is the "boss", Fields or Wolff-

Walk side by side with the highest honor

Is the highest honor in mathematics the Fields Prize or the Wolff Prize?

I still remember that after the master of mathematics died at the end of the year before last, this newspaper interviewed his disciple Wu Wenjun and talked about the Wolf Prize that Mr. Chen won, which is also called "the highest prize in mathematics in the world". In this regard, Gao Xiaoshan, director of the Research Center for Mathematical Mechanization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "Fields and Wolff are two traditional awards in mathematics. The former is an achievement award and the latter is a lifetime achievement award. "

Wu Wenjun said: "The Fields Medal has always been awarded to outstanding young people under the age of 40. There is only one exception in all these years, and that is andrew wiles. He successfully solved a difficult problem "Fermat's Last Theorem" that has plagued the world mathematics community for more than three centuries, and he proved that Fermat's Last Theorem was just over 40 years old when it was established, so he won the only special prize since the Fields Prize was awarded. "

The Wolf Prize is an international mathematics prize with the same reputation as the Fields Prize, and it is indeed won by the elderly. Wu Wenjun said: "Although Professor Chen Shengshen's two most famous papers were written in his thirties, his academic achievements were later affirmed, so he won the Wolff Prize instead of the Fields Prize. I think, I'm afraid that Nobel didn't know much about mathematics at that time, so there was no Nobel Prize in Mathematics. If there is, Mr. Chen will definitely win. "

In mathematics, there is also a mentoring relationship: Qiu Chengtong, 1982, the first Chinese to win the Fields Medal, graduated from the Department of Mathematics of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and his tutor is Chen Shengshen, the only Chinese to win the Wolff Prize.

The reason why Tao Zhexuan won the prize-

Perfect achievements in many aspects.

Wu Wenjun said, "Tao Zhexuan is a great man. Although I have never met him, I often hear people praise him in many forums and mention his achievements in many aspects. "

Gao Xiaoshan said: "It should be said that Tao Zhexuan won the prize based on his achievements in many aspects, not just his research achievements in the field of harmonic analysis. As far as I know, he proved that there is any arithmetic progression in prime numbers and solved a difficult problem. "

As we all know, if a natural number is only 1 and divisible by itself, then this number is a prime number. Studying prime numbers may not bring any direct practical benefits, but as one of the most basic topics in number theory, many mathematical problems are closely related to it, such as Goldbach conjecture, which is known as the "jewel in the crown of mathematics". Prime number plays an important role in pure mathematics and its application, and its research has been promoting the continuous development of other disciplines in many aspects.

Zhang Gongqing said: "The Fields Prize focuses on original ideas. Tao Zhexuan won this award mainly because of his research achievements in number theory, harmonic analysis and combinatorial analysis. "

Qiu Hua, a doctoral student in NTU Mathematics Department, spoke highly of Tao Zhexuan's perfect combination of harmonic analysis, ergodic theory and number theory. He said: "Because of the rich content of harmonic analysis, it takes the average student 1 to two years to study hard in the postgraduate stage before he can learn something. To some extent, it is a representative of mathematical skills. "

Guo Song is also a doctoral student in the Department of Mathematics at NTU University. Together with his tutor, he made an in-depth study of an article by Tao Zhexuan. Born in 1977, he admires Tao Zhexuan, who is only two years older than him: "Maybe this article is just one of his many papers, but for us, he has done a great job. In fact, as early as 2002, the mathematical community predicted that Tao Zhexuan would win the Fields Medal. His mentor and Wolf Prize winner Elias Stein also publicly praised him as a once-in-a-century mathematical wizard, so this award is completely unexpected. "

Tao Zhexuan, that man and that thing-

Math Mozart

"Terry (Tao Zhexuan's English nickname) is Mozart in mathematics, and he is brilliant," commented John Garnett, former head of the Department of Mathematics at UCLA.

The news that Tao Zhexuan won the prize hangs on the homepage of the university where he teaches. Behind his handsome young face, a headline slowly moved out: "Superstar Professor Tao Zhexuan became the first person in our school to win the Nobel Prize in Mathematics".

Nichen Tang, dean of the School of Physical Sciences and professor of mathematics, praised: a genius like Terry is rare in a hundred years. He has solved many problems that have plagued others for a long time in the field of mathematics; His leap in the research field is like an excellent cardiologist, and he has also made great achievements in the field of brain surgery. What is even more impressive is that he is so young.

Garnett said: Terry can always simplify complex math problems. He is the best mathematician in the world today. Moreover, his cooperation ability is very strong. The best mathematicians in the world like to work with Terry, and his collaborators can form the most powerful mathematics department in the world.

Professor Christopher Shiller, the current head of the Department of Mathematics at the school, said: "Excellent graduates from all States in the United States, even China and Romania, have come to our school to worship Tao Zhexuan as a teacher."

Born in China on July 1975, this math prodigy was fascinated by numbers at the age of 2, and even taught his children to count with chess pieces. At the age of 7, he studied calculus in high school and reached the level of college calculus at the age of 9; 1 1 won the bronze medal in the international mathematical Olympics, and Xiao He began to show his edge; In the next two years, he won the silver medal and gold medal in the international Olympic mathematics competition, becoming the youngest gold medal winner. Since then, this record has been unparalleled in Australia.

But these are just the beginning of his magic. The next resume is still dazzling: 2 1 year old, received a doctorate from Princeton University; At the age of 24, he became a professor of differential correction at UCLA. His research fields involve harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorial mathematics and analytic number theory. ...

But Tao Zhexuan said, "I don't have any super powers." He explained his success as a strategic victory: "Many people always think of direct solutions when facing mathematical problems, but they only get answers. I prefer to study strategy before I calculate some details. I wonder what will happen if I make some small changes. Is the original method still feasible? " Perhaps the secret of Tao Zhexuan's success is to get to the bottom of it stubbornly and persistently seek innovation.

Their dreams-

China will become a great country in mathematics.

China, a giant who decided to walk on two legs, is developing scientific and technological innovation while strengthening basic research. China not only showed his strength in physics and chemistry, but also made amazing progress in mathematics.

At the opening of this international congress of mathematicians, the French media quoted burgui Nong, president of the French Institute of Advanced Science, as saying in "Re-licensing the World Mathematical Circle": There are not many mathematicians in China at present, but this team will soon grow, because China has made up its mind to develop mathematical research, the country has greatly increased its investment and attracted a large number of outstanding talents from all over the world with generous working conditions.

"Awards can be regarded as a yardstick to measure progress," Gao Xiaoshan said. "Now that the learning conditions are good, China's mathematics as a whole is also improving, and some people have gradually won international mathematics awards." Zhang Gongqing also said: "Of course, the field of mathematics in China is improving. The number of articles published by China mathematicians in important magazines and the number of invited speeches at international conferences are increasing. "

At this time, I believe many people will think of "Chen Shengshen's dream"-that China will become a big country in mathematics. Wu Wenjun said: "The field of mathematics in China is progressing and has potential. There are more and more young mathematicians and many achievements have been made. This dream will definitely come true. "

This dream has always troubled Qiu Chengtong. Yesterday, the reporter called his three math centers in China and the office of Harvard University for the first time, but unfortunately he was never found. But what he said in a lecture at China Normal University not long ago is still in my ears. When talking about his views on China's basic mathematics research, he said: "Basic research must be done step by step, not eager for quick success and instant benefit, not impetuous."

Coincidentally, at the end of the interview, Wu Wenjun also said: "As long as we never forget, work hard and keep our feet on the ground, this dream will definitely come true."

Once a "mathematical prodigy"

Chen Shengshen:191/kloc-0 was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. He was admitted to Nankai University at the age of 15, and published his first academic paper in Tsinghua University Science Report at the age of 2 1. He obtained his master's degree at the age of 23, his doctorate at the University of Hamburg in Germany at the age of 25, and became a professor of geometry at the University of Chicago at the age of 38.

Gauss: 1777 was born in Brunswick, Germany. He has the reputation of "prince of mathematics" and is called the three greatest mathematicians in history together with Newton and Archimedes. 65,438+05 years old, entered Brunswick College. At the age of 65,438+07, he got a very important achievement in the history of mathematics-The Theory and Method of Drawing a Regular Seventeen-sided Ruler.

Leibniz: 1646 was born in Leipzig, Germany. /kloc-When he was 0/5 years old, he studied law at the University of Leipzig, during which he became interested in mathematics. Published his first math paper at the age of 20. From then on, I began to study the infinitesimal algorithm, independently established the basic concepts and algorithms of calculus, and laid the foundation of calculus together with Newton.

Ramanukin: 1888 was born in India. He was recognized as a mathematical genius in the international mathematics field in the 20th century and made pioneering contributions in many fields of number theory. He died at the age of 32, leaving behind nearly 4,000 unproven mathematical formulas and theorems, which proved that they had become a great challenge to the international mathematical community.