A few hours passed quickly.
When night fell completely on the Chinese side and the time entered twelve o'clock in the night, the Saint Petersburg side was still bright.
Because of the White Nights phenomenon, the daylight here at Saint Petersburg is as long as 23 hours, and even if the sun sets, it is still bright enough without going completely dark.
After enjoying the banquet in the banquet hall for several hours, people had filled their stomachs and regained their spirits. With the excitement brought by the morning report meeting, they re-entered the No. 1 Conference Hall, preparing for the official opening ceremony of this year's International Congress of Mathematicians.
More than 7,000 people once again surrounded the EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Center.
"Well... I really didn't want to eat this time!"
Touching her slightly full belly, Xiao Yi looked comfortable.
After three or four hours of being surrounded by people in the banquet hall, he finally had time to eat his own food.
As one of the highest-profile conferences among all international academic conferences, ICM's banquet level is naturally not low.
In addition, this is also a good opportunity for the organizers to highlight their country's food style. Russia is indeed a big meat-eating country, so it has well demonstrated their characteristics in eating meat.
Basically, you can see all kinds of meat almost everywhere at the banquet, especially beef, which made Xiao Yi enjoy it a lot.
It is gratifying to think that such a banquet can last for more than a week.
However, it seemed that the time was already past seven o'clock, and there were only about 10 minutes left before the opening ceremony officially started at 7:30, so it was time to go.
At this moment, he heard someone calling his name.
"Xiao! I finally found you, why are you still here?"
I saw Berezovsky shouting to me, followed by a group of organizing committee staff.
Xiao Yi couldn't help but be stunned and asked, "Mr. Chairman, why are you still here? Isn't the opening ceremony going to start soon?"
Berezovsky said helplessly, "Of course I'm here to find trouble. As today's protagonist, don't you plan to participate in this opening ceremony?"
Xiao Yi burst out laughing and said, "I was about to go. I was just tasting the dishes prepared at the banquet."
Berezovsky smiled and said, "It seems that our banquet quite satisfied you."
Xiao Yi nodded. "Of course."
"If you are willing to come to Saint Petersburg State University to teach, wouldn't you be able to eat it at any time?" Berezovsky immediately laughed, "It just so happens that I used to be the director of Saint Petersburg State University Mathematics Department, and now I also hold some positions. As long as you are willing, we can also give you the best treatment."
Hearing the other party's olive branch, Xiao Yi couldn't laugh or cry. He waved his hands and said, "That's no need. Chinese people relatively prefer their hometown cuisine. Why don't Mr. Chairman come to our place next time and ask you to taste our specialties? Maybe once you like it, you'll be willing to stay with us?"
Berezovsky shook his head regretfully, knowing that Xiao Yi was refusing, but he still said, "If there is a chance, I will do it next time."
Xiao Yi laughed.
Berezovsky probably doesn't know. I will definitely do it next time. In the context of China, it can be regarded as a kind of rejection.
At this time, a staff member next to him said something to Berezovsky. The latter immediately looked at the time and hurriedly said to Xiao Yi, "Okay, there are only 10 minutes left before the opening ceremony starts. Let's go to the convention and exhibition center as soon as possible."
Xiao Yi nodded, and then quickly followed them to the convention and exhibition center.
Arriving at the No. 1 Conference Hall of the Convention and Exhibition Center, more than 7,000 people had almost filled all the seats.
Xiao Yi was placed at the front, sitting with a group of big guys.
Next to him is Schultz.
"Oh, why are you here now?" Schultz asked.
Xiao Yi replied with a smile, "I didn't have time to eat at all in the afternoon. I didn't have a good meal until just now."
Schultz suddenly laughed, "That's true, I also experienced this kind of thing back then."
Xiao Yi nodded.
"How's it going? Do you feel confident today?" Schultz asked again at this time.
Xiao Yi was stunned, "What confidence?"
Seeing that Xiao Yi really didn't seem to realize it, Schultz couldn't help but complain about him, "No, isn't it possible that even Fields Medal can't make your heart beat?"
"Oh!"
Xiao Yi suddenly realized it, and then he said with a smile, "There is an old saying in China, which is that what I gain is my luck, and what I lose is my life."
"So whether you get it or not, it doesn't matter."
Hearing what Xiao Yi said, Schultz couldn't help but glance at him in surprise, and then sighed, "You are so young, and you still have such a mentality, you are worthy of being a master of mathematics."
Xiao Yi was stunned and remembered the question Schultz asked him before, and then said in a dumbfounded voice, "I did not admit that I am a master of mathematics."
"Ah, yes, yes." Schultz nodded perfunctorily.
Xiao Yi: "..."
At this moment, the whole place suddenly became quiet. It turned out that Berezovsky came out from the rostrum.
"Hello to all mathematicians from all over the world, and to everyone who is working hard to become a mathematician!"
"Welcome everyone to attend the 29th International Congress of Mathematicians."
"Of course, I don't think I need to introduce myself. Before the perfect report meeting started in the morning, I believe everyone already knows me."
"Then there's no need to talk nonsense, let's officially enter the first item of the conference."
Afterwards, Berezovsky began to introduce various aspects of this conference and thanked the major sponsors.
As chairman of the organizing committee, he also served as host at the opening ceremony.
After the introduction, it was time to move on to the second item, where representatives from the host city and national dignitaries delivered speeches.
In the speech session of national dignitaries, the speaker was Russia's supreme leader.
International Congress of Mathematicians Generally, the country's top leader will deliver a speech. For example, at the 1986 convention in the United States, Reagan gave a video speech, and at the 2002 Chinese convention, the then leader also delivered a speech.
As this heavyweight's speech ended, International Mathematical Union IMU Chairman Carlos Koenig came out.
The appearance of the chairman of the Mathematics Union immediately caused a shock at the scene.
The previous speeches were nothing worth paying attention to. After all, they were not given any money or funding increases, so they almost fell asleep. However, the appearance of Carlos Koenig meant that the winners of various mathematics awards this year would be announced.
For a moment, almost everyone in the audience sat up straight and looked at the IMU president.
Carlos Koenig smiled slightly, glanced at the mathematicians present, and then said, "I know what everyone is expecting, but before that, let me finish my manuscript."
He took out a piece of paper in his hand and showed it, "Not much, just this piece of paper, it's quick."
Everyone laughed.
"Dear colleagues and friends:
Welcome everyone to attend International Congress of Mathematicians in 2022. As the chairman of International Mathematical Union, I feel very honored to be able to address you here.
Despite the global challenges we face, the power of mathematics continues to push the frontiers of knowledge, solve real-world problems, and inspire countless young minds.
This conference brings together top mathematicians from around the world to share the latest research results and discuss the future development of mathematics. We not only focus on the theoretical discussion of pure mathematics, but also pay attention to its wide range of applications in the fields of science, technology and engineering.
Here, I would like to express my special thanks to all the organizers, volunteers and sponsors who have worked hard for the success of the conference. Your hard work and support enable us to maintain the enthusiasm and vitality of academic exchanges during such a special period.
Finally, I wish this conference a complete success. I hope everyone can gain knowledge, build friendships, and continue to move forward on the future research path.
Thank you all! "
After saying that, he shook the piece of paper in his hand and said with a smile, "How about it? Keep it short!"
"Then let's move on to the most important part of the opening ceremony, the awards ceremony!"
Sure enough, as he said these words, the atmosphere on the court immediately reached a peak.
"The next one awarded first is Chern Prize."
Chern Prize is naturally to commemorate the Chinese mathematician Shiing-Shen Chern. As one of the greatest mathematicians of the last century, his achievements are very important to the mathematics community. He created and led Integral Geometry, Differential Geometry of Fiber Bundles, Chern Classes and other heavyweight achievements, such as his fiber bundle theory, which profoundly affected Theoretical physics community.
For example, the Chern-Simons theory used by Xiao Yi to prove the mass gap problem is also his achievement.
And Chern Prize can be regarded as a kind of lifetime achievement award.
Finally, as announced by Koenig, the award was awarded to mathematician Barry Mazur from Harvard University in recognition of his profound discoveries in the fields of topology, arithmetic geometry and number theory, as well as his guidance and selfless dedication in cultivating a new generation of mathematicians.
Then came Gauss Prize. This award is the highest honor in the field of applied mathematics. It was finally awarded to Princeton University mathematician Eliot Leib in recognition of his extraordinary breadth and depth of mathematical contributions to the fields of Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Computational Chemistry and Quantum Information Theory.
After Professor Eliot Leib received the award, he returned to the stage.
Koenig walked back to the middle of the podium and said with a smile, "Then the next person to be awarded is Fields Medal."
Everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for Koenig's announcement.
"Fields Medal is an award established in International Mathematical Union on the commission of Professor John·C. Fields. Professor Fields is an important supporter of International Mathematical Union. It was with the support of Professor Fields that International Mathematical Union was able to become a truly international academic activity..."
After introducing the history of Fields Medal, Koenig finally began to read the first winner.
"... In recognition of his contribution to Analytic Number Theory, which has made significant progress in understanding the structure of prime numbers and the Diophantine approximation, on behalf of International Mathematical Union, I award Mr. James·Maynard Fields Medal!"
The first winner is James·Maynard. He is only 35 years old this year. The fact that he can win this award is enough to prove his talent.
Applause broke out.
At the seat, Xiao Yi also looked at James·Maynard who was sitting not far away from him, smiled and applauded him.
The winning of James·Maynard is not unexpected. It was predicted as early as two years ago.
The voting results given on those websites show that if Xiao Yi is excluded, the most people think that James·Maynard can get Fields Medal.
Later, James·Maynard came on stage to receive the award.
Soon, it was the turn of the second laureate, Hugo Dimini-Copan, who solved long-standing problems in the probability theory of phase transitions in Statistical Physics, especially in three and four dimensions.
Of course, although his results are mainly applied to physics, since he focuses on probability theory and statistical physics, he cannot be classified as a physicist like Edward Witten.
After that, there is the third winner, Hyeon-jun Huh, a Korean-American. His experience in mathematics is slightly unusual, because when he was a child, his math scores were not good, so he was convinced that he was not good at mathematics.
When he entered college, he dreamed of becoming a poet, but found that being a poet could not help him make a living, so he planned to become a science journalist, majoring in astronomy and physics.
It wasn't until his senior year that Heisuke Hironaka, a Fields Medal winner, visited his university. As a science reporter, he planned to use Heisuke Hironaka as his first topic.
As a result, he originally planned to do an interview, but he became the last student to stay and listen to the class, and officially entered the study of mathematics. Even when he was in graduate school, he was rejected by more than a dozen graduate schools because he had no undergraduate mathematics learning experience. However, he finally entered the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which is known as the public Ivy in the United States, and until today, he has become a Fields winner.
It can also be called a protagonist-like experience.
Soon, Hyeon-jun Huh also received the award and left the stage.
All three quotas have been awarded, and according to Fields Medal's usual practice, they will only be awarded to a maximum of four people each year.
In other words, there is only one spot left.
For a moment, everyone in the audience couldn't help but turn their attention to the position in the first row.
Xiao Yi.
Could it be that International Mathematical Union really doesn't plan to award this award to Xiao Yi because he is too young?
People can't help but think like this in their hearts.
This reason seems reasonable, but is it a little too much?
"Brother Xiao..."
In the back seat, Ye Cheng looked at Xiao Yi in the front and could not help but clench his fists.
Next to Xiao Yi, Schultz couldn't help but turn his head and glance at him.
Want to know if Xiao Yi really doesn't care.
But he couldn't tell, because although Xiao Yi looked at Carlos Koenig on the stage, he had no nervous expression at all and looked like a serious listener.
On the other side, Faltings, Deligne, Witten and other big bosses frowned slightly, wondering if they were a little dissatisfied.
Probably, the only ones who don't want Xiao Yi to win are the other Fields Medal competitors.
After all, even if Xiao Yi doesn't win, there are still several chances. If they don't win, they will never have the chance again. If they are over forty, they will no longer be able to win, unless they can create something like Wiles back then. proves that Fermat's Last Theorem is such a heavyweight achievement, but there is still a chance to get a special Fields Medal, although this is not the real Fields Medal.
Just like that, the atmosphere of the whole place almost stagnated.
At this moment, Carlos Koenig on the stage finally spoke the award speech for the fourth winner.
"From Algebraic Geometry to Analytic Number Theory, from topological theory to mathematical physics, whether p-adic Hodge theory or cohomology, or Automorphic Forms sum trace formula... in 2 2000 years ago, the definition of genius in mathematics was omnipotent. However, with the emergence of more and more methods and the refinement of mathematical directions, such omnipotent geniuses have become increasingly rare. Not to mention, geniuses who can make great contributions in almost every field are almost extinct."
"But until now, such a genius has appeared in the world of mathematics again..."
When Koenig said this, people in the audience were already aware of the identities of these winners.
After all, in today's mathematics world, there is only one person who can truly be called an almighty, genius!
Suddenly, even though Koenig was still speaking, people were already applauding, and more and more people were infected.
So much so that even if Koenig wanted to increase his voice and let the sound cover up the applause, he could not do it.
They not only applauded the decision made by International Mathematical Union, but also applauded this most deserving winner!
Finally, Koenig had to stop and spread his hands helplessly.
"Friends, I know you are all excited, but don't get excited yet. Wait until I finish reading the words and then applaud later when the awards are presented, okay? Give me some face."
He activated his face fruit ability.
"Hahaha~"
Everyone laughed, and then stopped applauding to save face.
Koenig continued, "... He proved the correctness of Twin Prime Conjecture and revealed the final answer to Goldbach Conjecture. He has already taken away two of the three crowns in the eighth question of Hilbert."
"And his numerous achievements in theory, whether it is etale algebraic variety automorphic theory or the Xiao's Polynomial Expansion method, have spread throughout the mathematics community and become core methods in major related fields."
"Even to this day, the Hodge-vertex algebra analytical method he pioneered has successfully proved the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems. Millennium Prize Problems, he won the second place."
Speaking of this, Koenig also specifically mentioned the previous certifier of Millennium Prize Problems: "Today is at Saint Petersburg. Although Professor Perelman did not come here, I think if he heard the news, he would be very happy."
Saint Petersburg is the hometown of Perelman. It is indeed a pity that he did not come here today.
"Xiao Yi, this genius who seems to come from the void, has used his peerless ability to create new brilliance for our mathematics."
"Although he is only nineteen years old, mathematics never cares about age, and Fields Medal prefers young geniuses. Therefore, on behalf of International Mathematical Union, I announce that today's fourth Fields Medal winner is none other than Xiao Yi!"
"Please invite Mr. Xiao Yi to come on stage to receive the award!"
Finally, the applause rang again, especially fiercely.
Everyone sent their congratulations heartily.
Well deserved!
Even other strong contenders for Fields Medal gave up their illusions and gave up applause as the name was confirmed.
Because even in their hearts, Xiao Yi is well-deserved.
They would rather compete with three other people than compete with Xiao Yi.
"Congratulations."
Beside him, Schultz said to Xiao Yi with a smile.
The big guys at Faltings also relaxed their brows and expressed their congratulations to Xiao Yi with a smile.
As the protagonist, Xiao Yi, smiled at this time, of course he was happy.
I am lucky to get it, but I am destined to lose it.
Since it is his luck to get it, why not be happy about being lucky?
"Thank you everyone."
Nodding to them, Xiao Yi stood up, buttoned up his formal clothes, then stepped on the shiny leather shoes and walked onto the podium.
In the morning, he stood here giving a report, and in the evening, he stood here again, accepting this moment of glory.
"Congratulations," Koenig said with a smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman."
"Let me wear this medal for you."
Then, Koenig picked up the Fields Medal badge next to him, lifted the ribbon, and said to Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi lowered his head slightly, and then put on the Fields Medal seal.
He picked it up and looked at it.
The design of the medal is full of symbolism and reflects the history and culture of mathematics.
In the center of the front is the head of Archimedes, which symbolizes the long history and wisdom of mathematics. There is a Latin inscription around the head: "TRANSIRE SUUM PECTUS MUNDOQUE POTIRI", which means "transcend your own thinking and master the world."
The back shows a set of spheres and reliefs, symbolizing the Geometry of mathematics and the exploration of three-dimensional space, and there is also a Latin inscription: "CONGREGATI EX TOTO ORBE MATHEMATICI OB SCRIPTA INSIGNIA TRIBUERE", which means "mathematicians around the world award this award for their outstanding works."
"This is Fields Medal..."
Xiao Yi felt emotion in his heart.
Think back to the past few years.
The days and nights he spent studying mathematics.
Hmm...
What I have achieved today is all due to my peerless wisdom, extreme talent, and years of hard work and study.
[Ruthless Continuous Study], upgrade me!
Ahem...
In addition to the Fields Medal seal, there is also a certificate and a bonus of 15,000 Canadian Dollar. Because Fields himself is a Canadian, his inheritance is also Canadian Dollar.
As all the prizes were awarded, Xiao Yi also held up the medals and certificates in his hands, leaving his figure in front of the camera. Finally, he also left the rostrum and returned to the audience.
The award ceremony of the conference continued. Below are Lilavati Prize and Abacus Prize. However, as the most important Fields Medal, after all the award results came out, the news began to spread to the outside world.
The news that Xiao Yi won the award at the age of 19, becoming the youngest winner in history, once again caused shock!