Wen | Han Yangmei and Wang Yiting, reporters of China Science Daily
On the morning of April 20, Tsinghua University announced that Yau Chengtong had been appointed as a chair professor at Tsinghua University.
Yang Le, a mathematician and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the event and reviewed the painstaking efforts and contributions made by Yau Chengtong in promoting the development of China's mathematics and in the cultivation of mathematical talents and the introduction of leading scholars.
1979 was a year to be remembered.
In the summer, I received Mr. Qiu Chengtong in Beijing, which was also his first visit to China, and the invitation was Mr. Hua Luogeng, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Mr. Yau Chengtong was invited to give a series of lectures at the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
At that time, the mathematical institute was still in the old building of Zhongguancun, and the facilities were very old and simple. However, such an environment did not affect the passion of Mr. Yau Chengtong's speech in the slightest.
Every time, he lectured everyone on the world's most cutting-edge research.
At that time, he was just 30 years old, already a rising star in the international mathematical community, many schools invited him to speak, I have also hosted his lectures many times, and I have interacted with him frequently and are quite familiar with him.
Yang Le spoke at the appointment ceremony Image source: Yau Chengtong Center for Mathematical Sciences, Tsinghua University
In 1979, Yang Le (right) and Yau Chengtong participated in academic exchange activities Image source: Yau Chengtong Center for Mathematical Sciences, Tsinghua University
70s
Mr. Yau Chengtong's mathematical achievements
Mr. Chengtong Yau completed his doctoral studies and major research work in only one year at the University of California, Berkeley. His supervisor, Mr. Chen Shengshen, was taking academic annual leave at that time.
He worked very hard himself. Professor Charles Morrey, at the University of California, Berkeley, taught a course on partial differential equations, and he was the only one who persisted.
Mr. Yau Chengtong has made great efforts in the field of geometric analysis. Geometric analysis is an emerging field that integrates partial differential equations and differential geometry.
Mr. Chen Shengshen, after returning from vacation, saw his results and thought that he could already get a doctorate. But considering a number of factors, it was recommended that he graduate from Berkeley the following year. After graduating with his PhD, he still worked very hard.
In particular, in 1976, he succeeded in proving the Calabi conjecture. During the critical phase of studying the Calabi conjecture, he spent a great deal of time and effort and even made up his mind that "if he can't do it, he will leave the mathematical community."
Finally, at his insistence, the problem was completely overcome at the end of 1976.
In 1978, Mr. Yau chengtong was invited to give a one-hour lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Helsinki, which was both a personal honor and a major event for the international mathematical community.
Before Mr. Yau Chengtong, only Mr. Chen Shengshen, a Chinese mathematician, was twice invited to give a one-hour lecture at the conference.
Usually, at this quadrennial international mathematical community event, there is usually only one scholar in a discipline to give an hourly lecture, which is a rare opportunity.
This year he was only 29 years old, equivalent to the age of the current doctoral student, or a new recruit in the scientific research journey, which is enough to prove that he has been widely recognized by the international mathematical community.
In 1983, Mr. Yau Chengtong won the Fields Medal, which caused a lot of shock at home and abroad.
At that time Chinese receiving the Fields Medal not only had a considerable encouraging effect on china's scientific and technological community, but also on the entire Chinese society.
Remember the physicist Zhou Peiyuan was very emotional after hearing this news, he believes that the significance of this award is even more than the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Prize is awarded once a year, and the Fields Medal is only selected once every four years, with a maximum of four people at a time, which is quite difficult.
At that time, the domestic mathematical community was very excited, and the newspaper also published an article to introduce Mr. Yau Chengtong's award.
80s
Mr. Yau Chengtong did three things for Chinese mathematics
Before the reform and opening up, the mainland academic circles were almost isolated from the outside world.
Mathematics higher education, the number and quality of enrollment is very limited, mathematics teaching is difficult to sustain, higher education and scientific research need to be restarted.
After Nixon's visit to China in 1972, international academic exchanges gradually opened up, and some mathematicians began to visit China, including Mr. Chen Shengshen and Mr. Qiu Chengtong.
In the 1980s, Mr. Yau Chengtong actively participated in the conference on differential geometry and differential equations convened by Mr. Chen Shengshen, opened a summer school to cultivate reserve forces, selected and trained Chinese students to study in the United States, and their teachers and students jointly solved a series of serious problems faced by Chinese mathematics at the beginning of reform and opening up.
In 1980, Mr. Chen Shengshen proposed to hold a double micro conference (differential geometry, differential equations) in China, and the reason for choosing these two disciplines was also inspired by Mr. Yau Chengtong's work.
Mr. Chen Believes that there is a closer connection between these two disciplines, which needs to be tapped by the entire mathematical community.
The double micro conference has played a vital role in promoting domestic mathematical research and academic exchanges.
Around 1982, there were regular mathematics graduates in China, many of whom were very serious, hardworking, excellent grades, and had the idea of continuing their studies.
Although the recruitment and training of domestic graduate students have been restored synchronously, the number is very small and the level is not ideal.
On the one hand, undergraduate graduates want to study abroad, but they are not very clear about the channels for applying for graduate school admission abroad.
On the other hand, foreign universities do not know much about the specific conditions of the mainland. Based on this, Mr. Chen Shengshen launched the "Chen Shengshen Project".
This project is similar to Mr. Lee Jeong-do's "Sino-US Joint Admission to study physics graduate program in the United States".
International scholars come to Beijing to interview and select students, and according to their fields, interests and levels, assist in contacting corresponding international first-class universities to pursue master's and doctoral degrees. Among them, Mr. Yau Chengtong has done a lot of work.
Another important activity is the opening of "summer schools". At that time, due to long-term stagnation and closure, the academic community was unable to open cutting-edge courses for graduate students.
Therefore, Mr. Chen Shengshen proposed to invite some well-known foreign scholars to open courses for outstanding graduate students during the summer vacation.
The first summer school was held at Peking University in 1984 and featured four keynote speakers: Wu Hongxi, Xiao Yintang, Xiang Wuyi and Mo Zongjian. Mr. Yau Chengtong pointed out that some domestic scholars can also serve as lecturers.
As a result, Zhong Jiaqing and others also joined the ranks of teaching. These arrangements not only laid a good foundation for graduate students; Mr. Yau Chengtong's proposal also built great confidence for young scholars in China.
90s
Start with morningside math center
In 1995, Lu Yongxiang, then vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, met with Mr. Qiu Chengtong, hoping that he could help the Chinese Academy of Sciences to run a mathematics center and cultivate mathematical research talents in the motherland.
Mr. Yau Chengtong and Lu Yongxiang are in line with the concept of hoping to give full play to the role of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and establish a research center similar to the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study.
Through the funds raised by Mr. Yau Chengtong in Hong Kong, in 1996, the "Morningside Mathematics Center" was completed.
Although the funds raised in Hong Kong at that time were not very large, and the funds of the Chinese Academy of Sciences were also very tight, they still insisted on running the center.
Initially, the operation mode of Morningside Center, first, invited scholars in several important fields in China, such as some outstanding scholars from Nanjing University and Sun Yat-sen University, to focus on half a year's research work.
Second, invite foreign scholars who are active in research in related fields to make systematic speeches, share the most cutting-edge international achievements, and drive outstanding young scholars in China, including Mr. Zhang Shouwu.
Students from many colleges and universities in China have come to listen to lectures and participate in exchanges, and the atmosphere is warm.
At that time, due to financial constraints, there were no conditions to invite foreign scholars to return to China for long-term appointments, and it was difficult to build a fixed high-level teaching team.
After years of accumulation, Morningside Center has formed a top algebraic arithmetic geometry research team, and a number of outstanding scholars such as young scholars Yun Zhiwei and Zhang Wei have also been cultivated in Morningside Center for a long time, which is a very successful aspect of Morningside Center.
For more than 40 years, Mr. Yau Chengtong has devoted his time and energy to the development of Mathematics in China, especially on cultivating young talents.
In addition to the Morningside Mathematics Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Center for Mathematical Sciences of Zhejiang University, the Center for Mathematical Sciences of Tsinghua University, the Institute of Applied Mathematics of Beijing Yanqi Lake, the Yau Chengtong Mathematical Research Center of Southeast University, and the Nanjing Center for Applied Mathematics have been set up on the mainland. At the same time, he initiated the Conference of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM), which is held every three years, to award the "Morningside Mathematics Prize", known as the Chinese Fields Medal, and invites internationally renowned mathematicians to serve as judges.
In order to stimulate the enthusiasm of young scholars to learn and study mathematics, there are also "Best Graduation Thesis Award" (formerly the New World Mathematics Award) for outstanding doctors and masters; the "Yau Chengtong College Student Mathematics Competition" for senior students in university mathematics, which is closer to the graduate mathematics qualification examination of famous Universities in the United States; and the "Yau Chengtong Middle School Mathematics Competition" for cultivating middle school students' interest in mathematics and guiding them to embark on the road of research.
When he first started doing these things, I had concerns. In general, competitions should be named and supported by institutions. I'm worried about whether it will last.
But now it seems that everything is doing well, and the participation of international judges in the selection is very fair, and it has also been supported by various units in the country, which has played a very good role in cultivating young talents.
Mr. Yau Chengtong often holds academic conferences and activities, advocates and promotes mathematical research, cultivates young mathematical talents, and carries out academic exchanges at home and abroad.
These are all fruitful results brought about by the mainland's basic national policy of "reform and opening up" in mathematics.
As long as we continue along this broad road, we will be able to become the world's mathematical power.
Long-term diligence is an important reason for success
Mr. Yau Chengtong is a mathematical genius, but his ability to develop to today's level is closely related to his diligence and hard work.
Mr. Yau Chengtong's academic achievements are very amazing, some long-term problems can be solved in his place, and his research results not only have great breakthroughs in his own field, but also bring new ideas and methods to other branches of mathematics.
Research work requires long-term research and great concentration, continuous thinking, repeated speculation, and overcoming various difficulties and setbacks, and finally it is possible to make breakthroughs and innovations.
Mr. Yau Chengtong's long-term perseverance and hard work are very important reasons for his success.
Mr. Yau Chengtong is very remarkable, he always maintains a spirit and does not relax on himself because of the award.
His body is not the best, but his energy is enormous.
When he was young, he often ran between Beijing and the United States, and at the beginning there was no direct flight, and it was very difficult to fly for more than 20 hours.
What impressed me was that he got off the plane at 11 o'clock the night before to the hotel, got up very early the next day to arrange academic activities normally, and did not return to rest until late at night.
This is not once or twice. Instead of showing a state of fatigue, he is always full of energy.
His graduate students often advised him to take proper weekend breaks, but he insisted on discussing and giving academic lectures with them.
He attaches great importance to academia and the cultivation of young talents, and this spirit is consistent. His students were often influenced by him, and some of the students who had not worked hard before became very hardworking.
Mr. Yau Chengtong single-handedly developed Chinese mathematics, did a lot of work and achieved very impressive results.
He grew up in the colony of Hong Kong since he was a child, went to the United States to study in his youth, and it is very rare that he still has such a deep affection for the motherland and has made so many contributions under this growth experience.
He also studied literature, philosophy, and traditional Chinese culture and was very accomplished, prompting him to do more and more meaningful things.
He really hopes that Chinese mathematics can have a good development, and hopes that a large number of young Chinese mathematical talents will emerge.
He did it and is continuing to work on it.
As a great mathematician with international influence, Mr. Yau Chengtong is determined to devote all his time and energy to Tsinghua University in the future. This is also a great gain for Tsinghua.
There is still a gap between the average level of Tsinghua University and the world's first-class universities, Tsinghua should use his strength to expand the discipline of mathematics, so that Mr. Qiu Chengtong's influence radiates to more fields, so that Tsinghua education and even Chinese education can match the international advanced level as soon as possible.
(Contributed by Chengtong Yau Mathematical Science Center, Tsinghua University)