Fields and Abacus Medals 2026

Quanta Homepage Log out Change password Every four years, the math world’s preeminent awards are given to the finest minds of a generation. The young winners — all under 40 on the first day of the year — have reshaped mathematics and theoretical computer science. Here are their stories. 2026 Fields and Abacus Medals Living Fully in the Math World Means Threading the Needle By Natalie Wolchover Focus, commitment, and insight resulted in a “once in a century” proof. Hong Wang is now the third woman to win a Fields Medal. GO TO ARTICLE 2026 Fields and Abacus Medals Sometimes Being First Means Seeing the End Before Anyone Else By Kevin Hartnett Determination and effort propelled Jacob Tsimerman to the top of the math world. But now that he’s won a Fields Medal, he worries that the field is in jeopardy. GO TO ARTICLE 2026 Fields and Abacus Medals The Quietest Mathematician Was Always Worth Listening To By Konstantin Kakaes John Pardon sees connections between different areas of math that others don’t. For that, he’s now been awarded a Fields Medal. GO TO ARTICLE 2026 Fields and Abacus Medals Amid Life’s Chaos, a Meticulous Mathematician Finds Stability By Jordana Cepelewicz Before he won a Fields Medal for his pioneering work balancing randomness and order, Yu Deng first had to achieve equilibrium in his own life. GO TO ARTICLE 2026 Fields and Abacus Medals A Master of the Traveling Salesperson Problem Finds His Own Path By Ben Brubaker Shayan Oveis Gharan has won the Abacus Medal for applying tools from across mathematics to computer science. GO TO ARTICLE