Four mathematicians received the Fields medal on Tuesday in Helsinki, including Frenchman Hugo Duminil-Copin and Ukrainian Maryna Viazovska, the second woman to receive this prestigious distinction since the prize was created in 1936.
The other two winners of this award, issued every four years, considered the equivalent of a “Nobel of mathematics”, are the US-based researcher June Huh and the Briton James Maynard.
Emmanuel Macron immediately sent his congratulations to the Frenchman, welcoming "his work on probability and statistical physics".
Congratulations to Hugo Duminil-Copin who receives the most prestigious prize in mathematics: the Fields Medal!
Recognizing his work on probability and statistical physics, this distinction shows the vitality and excellence of our French School of Mathematics.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 5, 2022
The Fields Medal recognizes exceptional work by researchers in mathematics aged 40 or less, in terms of new ideas or technical prowess.
Its name comes from the Canadian mathematician John Fields (1863-1932), who had the idea and bequeathed his estate to finance the prize.
The distinction, which is awarded every four years and can be awarded to several people, was awarded for the first time in 1936, and regularly since 1950 on the occasion of the international congresses of mathematicians.
The last Frenchman to have received it, in 2014, was the Franco-Brazilian Artur Avila.
