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Chapter 197 Opening Ceremony (Part )
The day before the official opening of the International Congress of Mathematicians, Qiao Yu's life was indeed very fulfilling.

I met with three small groups and talked about the development of mathematics after the generalized modal axiom system was proposed. Then I talked with scholars from the Structure Committee of the International Mathematical Union about tomorrow's opening report.

Director Tian, ​​who I hadn't seen at noon, finally showed up. I met him and chatted with him for a few minutes. Then I went to see my old acquaintance again in the afternoon.

It can be seen that Director Tian still has a great influence in the world mathematics community.

However, what made Qiao Yu happiest was that at around 4:00 p.m. Philadelphia time, he received news that Mr. Yuan and Qiao Xi had also arrived.

The news was told to him by Zheng Xiwen. At that time, Qiao Yu was chatting with mathematicians from the Structural Committee in the conference room.

Zheng Xiwen directly handed him a note, saying that Mr. Yuan and Qiao Xi had arrived at the hotel safely.

From this point, Qiao Yu could tell that Lao Zheng's team was indeed very professional. They were always by his side, but they knew everything about the surrounding situation.

After patiently chatting with the math experts from the Structural Committee, the meeting ended on time at 5pm.

In fact, the content of the report has already been submitted to the organizing committee. Today's meeting is not so much an academic exchange as it is a group of bigwigs coming together to show their presence in front of this legendary newcomer in the mathematics world.

Among the members of this IMU Structural Committee, I only knew one person, who was also the only public chairman of the Structural Committee - Pierre Delini. I met the others for the first time.

After bidding farewell to these world mathematics giants whom he met for the first time, Qiao Yu went directly to find Yuan Lao and Qiao Xi, whose rooms were also arranged by the organizing committee.

Although Yuan Zhengxin will not speak at this conference, his status in the world mathematics community is there after all.

Let me put it this way, so far there are only two mathematicians who have won the Fields Medal, the Wolf Prize and the Crawford Prize at the same time.

One of them was the chairman of the structural committee, Pierre Delini, whom Qiao Yu had just met. The other was his master's grandfather, Yuan Zhengxin.

It is indeed not easy to win these three awards at the same time. Of course, there will be more in the future. After all, the Wolf Prize is a final award, and the winners are all senior figures in a certain field of mathematics.

Therefore, it is usually awarded to mathematicians when they are older, representing that their position in the mathematics community is unshakable.

In other words, for mathematicians, winning the Fields Medal at a young age means making a breakthrough contribution in a certain field. However, it still requires decades of academic accumulation, maintaining a high level of activity and continuous innovation.

You will not receive a Wolf Medal until later in life.

As for the Crawford Prize, since it covers multiple disciplines, in addition to mathematics, there are also astronomy, biology, medicine, etc., to be able to win the prize requires not only strength but also a bit of luck.

For example, if the research results happen to be within the period for judging the Mathematics Award of the Crafoord Prize, otherwise the research results within this period happen to win other mathematics awards, and when the Mathematics Award of the Crafoord Prize is judged, it will most likely be missed.

After all, the judging committee of such a world-renowned award will tend to balance factors and generally will not give different awards consecutively to someone for the same research results.

For example, Qiao Yu won the Fields Medal for all his contributions at this stage. If next year happens to be the review year for the Crafoord Prize in Mathematics, and Qiao Yu has no new research results, then he will definitely not win the Crafoord Prize that year.

After all, the international mathematics community has already rewarded you for your contributions, so naturally you have to give up the opportunity to others.

Therefore, if mathematicians want to win all three awards, they need to continuously produce new things, so that those arrogant review committees will have to pinch their noses and give out the prize money.

Of course, this was what Qiao Yu thought when he heard Yuan Lao talk about the rules for judging international large-scale mathematics awards. He still remembered that Yuan Lao specifically told him to be reserved and not accept any award.

Especially some junk awards that are designed to boost their reputation, they often invite well-known new math talents.

Well, Qiao Yu’s idea about this is that he would definitely not go for those unknown awards with small prize money.

……

When Qiao Yu rushed to the hotel from the conference center, he was happy to find that Mr. Yuan and Qiao Xi lived on the same floor as him.

However, at this time, Mr. Yuan was entertaining guests, and Qiao Xi was also called over.

It would be impolite for Qiao Yu to visit at this time, but Qiao Yu didn't care.

After all, he is the grandson...

He is also a grandson that makes his grandfather proud.

In fact, Yuan Zhengxin had not planned to attend this meeting. The old man had seen almost everything in his generation, so it didn't matter whether he attended this meeting or not.

Not to mention that I am old now and tired from the long journey.

If Qiao Yu had not been sure of winning the Fields Medal, he would not have made this special trip.

Although the winners of all this year's awards have not yet been announced to the public, this does not include the winners.

To ensure that the winners can attend the International Congress of Mathematicians and receive their awards, the committee often contacts the winners a few weeks before the conference to ensure that they can make time to receive their awards.

The committee just asked the winners to keep it secret for the time being and not to publicize it. Although Qiao Yu received the call a little late, he knew that he would win the award half a month in advance.

This is also the reason why he gave up returning to Star City because of Tian Yanzhen's words.

As for confidentiality...

Qiao Yu had indeed not told anyone, but Tian Yanzhen, Yuan Zhengxin and Qiao Xi were obviously not among them.

The mentor and his master's master knew the rules of these awards better than he did, so they would not spread the news. As for Qiao Xi, who hadn't posted a circle of friends in ten years, it was even more impossible for him to spread the news everywhere.

Yuan Zhengxin's only purpose of coming this time is to see with his own eyes the moment when Qiao Yu receives the award tomorrow.

So he chose to come a day earlier. As for bringing Qiao Xi with him, it was naturally so that Qiao Xi could witness the most important day in Qiao Yu's life with her own eyes.

In this situation, let alone that Mr. Yuan was meeting guests, even if he was sleeping and was woken up by Qiao Yu, he probably wouldn't say anything harsh.

Not to mention that Qiao Yu, the guest who was meeting with Mr. Yuan, also knew him.

"Master, Mom, hey, Professor Zhang, you are here too!" In fact, Qiao Yu knew that Zhang Shuwen was in Yuan Zhengxin's room at this time.

Zheng Xiwen had already told him when he came up just now.

Let’s put it this way, Zheng Xiwen, who has always been with Qiao Yu, seems to know all the movements of everyone related to Qiao Yu in this building and the building opposite.

Qiao Yu didn't know how many people had to be deployed in this hotel to achieve this effect. It couldn't be that they had controlled the hotel's surveillance system, right?
The Professor Zhang that Qiao Yu mentioned is naturally Zhang Shuwen from Princeton.

He actually arrived in Philadelphia yesterday, but did not find a chance to meet Qiao Yu.

After all, Zhang Shuwen felt that he was not familiar with Qiao Yu, and Qiao Yu was so busy. There were so many people who wanted to see Qiao Yu. Not to mention that it was Yuan Zhengxin who invited him back to China.

I can only say that most of these old-school Chinese scholars are still very traditional. They are not as open-minded as Western scholars in many things.

For example, Western scholars felt that Qiao Yu's academic research was useful for what they were studying, so they tried their best to meet with Qiao Yu and have a chat to see if they could bring him over.

"Qiao Yu has finished the meeting. Come, come and sit down." Old Yuan looked up and saw Qiao Yu smiling happily, and pointed to a chair next to the room.

Qiao Yu made a face at Qiao Xi, then sat down obediently. Zheng Xiwen followed behind Qiao Yu.

"Xiao Zheng, don't stand anymore. Find a chair and sit together." Old Yuan gave another instruction.

"Do you need me to introduce Professor Zhang to you?" Yuan Zhengxin asked with a smile.

Ever since the old man knew that Qiao Yu would win the Fields Medal this year, his mouth couldn't help but grin when he saw Qiao Yu, and he couldn't be serious even if he wanted to.

"Grandpa, how could I forget? I have met Professor Zhang several times. When we first met at Yanbei University, Professor Zhang gave me some advice. To be honest, Professor Zhang has contributed a lot to my current achievements."

Qiao Yu answered immediately without hesitation.

After all, Zhang Shuwen has a good relationship with Mr. Yuan, and he is also a well-known mathematician in China, so it is always a good idea to sell him more.

Anyway, there is no harm in saying nice things.

"Haha, did you hear that? Shuwen, I said Qiao Yu is a sensible kid and knows who is doing good for him." Sure enough, Old Yuan was even happier and said loudly with full energy.

Zhang Shuwen smiled and glanced at Qiao Yu, then looked at Yuan Lao and Qiao Xi and said, "Yuan Lao and Qiao Xi are still the best teachers."

Qiao Xi smiled. She was actually not very good at dealing with such occasions. But to be honest, Qiao Xi felt that Qiao Yu was more influenced by his grandfather.

"By the way, Qiao Yu, I have something to tell you. Professor Zhang resigned from his tenured professorship at Princeton and decided to go to Huaqing University after this conference. I plan to recommend Professor Zhang to be the deputy director and chair professor of the Center for Mathematical Sciences. What do you think?"

Qiao Yu immediately said, "Wow, Grandpa, do you really need to ask? This is great news! Huaqing's mathematical strength has been greatly improved. It will be no problem for us to surpass Princeton in the future!"

By the way, Professor Zhang, I just happen to have a very promising big project. When I get back, I will call my mentor and we will discuss it together and try to get Yanbei and Huaqing to win this project together."

All day long, Qiao Yu's mind was filled with the project he had this morning on how to implement quantum simulation computing.

This project is indeed huge, and it is definitely not enough to be supported by the few resources he has at his disposal now.

But if we include Yanbei and Huaqing, it will be different. The mathematics centers, mathematics schools and computer science schools on both sides definitely have all kinds of talents.

To put it bluntly, even if the current talent pool is not enough, if the two domestic super universities send out the message that they want to recruit people, especially to work on projects with the youngest Fields Medal winner, the number of senior talents applying would probably fill up an entire playground.

At that time, he would definitely suggest inviting "Teacher Wen" back to give lessons to these newcomers involved in the research.

"Oh? A big project? How big is it? You can't tell me now?" After hearing what Qiao Yu said, Yuan Zhengxin and Zhang Shuwen became interested, especially Zhang Shuwen, who immediately took the initiative to ask.

"Well, it's hard to say now. Let's talk about this matter when we get back." Qiao Yu said seriously.

After all, it was someone else's idea and it was on someone else's territory. Qiao Yu felt that he should still respect those big guys.

It doesn't matter when I get back. As long as the project can be approved, the next step is to see who is faster.

Qiao Yu really doesn't boo those people on this one.

The whole world knows that he is the fastest in research. Even if those big guys have already started the project for two or three years, since they have come to him for help, it is enough to show that they have already determined that the path they took before is not feasible.

There's nothing to be afraid of now.

The person who can beat him in his field has not yet been born.

This kind of confidence is certainly not inexplicable, it is given by these people.

After all, if they really had the ability, why would they have done it long ago? Was it out of modesty? Were they afraid that the elders would have picked all the fruits close to the ground from the apple trees, so they wanted to leave some for the younger generations?

So, are we intentionally leaving these unresolved problems such as the Riemann hypothesis, the NS equation, the P=NP problem, the Hodge hypothesis, etc. to later generations of mathematicians?

Yes, that's how confidence comes.

When he first started learning mathematics, Qiao Yu thought that those foreign bigwigs were very impressive.

But now that he has experienced more, Qiao Yu feels that those big guys are not as powerful as he had imagined before.

Even some proof processes that seemed obvious to him had to be fully explained to the big guys in order for them to understand his ideas.

Confidence is built up little by little. Of course, it can also be said that Qiao Yu was a little too proud.

But it is undeniable that as the world's youngest quasi-Fields Medal winner, Qiao Yu really has the capital to be proud of himself.

"Okay, Shuwen, don't be anxious. Although Qiao Yu is still young, it's a good thing that he has his own ideas. Let's discuss the project when we get back. Don't worry, Qiao Yu, as long as it's a good project, I can still help. Let's see who can be blind this time!"

Yuan Zhengxin expressed his position almost unconditionally.

Zhang Shuwen smiled.

Of course he knew what it meant to have a big shot like Yuan Zhengxin make such a clear statement.

When one reaches Yuan Zhengxin's position and level, even if he makes a promise, he will definitely leave room for it.

Just like when he was advised to return to China for development, he was only asked to help look after Qiao Yu, and no specific salary was mentioned at all.

However, Zhang Shuwen was also very clear that it was a rare honor for Mr. Yuan to be able to make such a statement to him.

But I am most afraid of comparison. When it comes to Qiao Yu, it's as if he wants to give up all his guarantees. I really can't envy him.

Fortunately, this also gave Zhang Shuwen more confidence.

As the youngest Fields Medal winner, and with two bigwigs who are almost unconditionally willing to protect him, he has a high probability of witnessing history again and again if he chooses to return to China this time.

"Thank you, Grandpa. By the way, it's almost time for dinner. Let's go eat first. You must be tired after the flight. Have a good rest after dinner. The conference will start tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, yes. We really need to rest early today. Let's go eat first! Oh, by the way, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you. The central media has inquired about the broadcasting rights of the opening ceremony of the International Mathematical Union conference! Do you understand? Haha..."

Yuan Zhengxin said excitedly.

"Ah?" Qiao Yu was slightly stunned, then instantly understood what the old man meant, and was a little surprised for a moment...

The central media is so well-informed? He didn't say anything!
……

July 23, 2026, Philadelphia, sunny.

Even though Qiao Yu felt that he was used to big scenes, when he walked out of the hotel and saw the crowds of people around him, he realized that he might have underestimated the group of mathematicians.

There are too many people here!

Especially today, there is said to be security check at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, so the mathematicians and students waiting to enter really surrounded the main entrance.

Fortunately, as a special speaker of the conference, Qiao Yu did not need to squeeze in with others. The organizing committee had prepared a special channel for him.

Of course, mathematics giants like Mr. Yuan, Director Tian, ​​etc. who have special seats in the front row of the conference can also enter the venue early through special channels.

There is no other way. Many Fields Medal winners are already old. For example, Mr. Yuan is almost 80 years old. It is not good to let these elderly people squeeze in with the young people.

Of course, Qiao Yu was a special case. So he found that everyone along the way was familiar. He had basically seen everyone who could walk through this passage yesterday.

By the time Qiao Yu exchanged greetings with everyone and walked into the conference hall, it was already packed with people and extremely noisy.

Qiao Yu found his seat and discovered that he was not seated next to his mentor and Mr. Yuan, although they were also in the front row. Even Zheng Xiwen was seated behind him.

"Hi, Qiao Yu. Hello, I'm Jack Thorne. Professor at Cambridge University."

While Qiao Yu was still looking around, a middle-aged man in his thirties next to him took the initiative to greet him.

Qiao Yu stopped looking for the Chinese photographer and looked at the people around him. After thinking for a while, he said, "Jack Thorne? Huh? This name is so familiar. I must have read your paper."

"Haha, it's an honor. My work is mainly in the fields of number theory and representation theory, especially the number theory related problems involved in the Langlands Program." Jack Thorne said with a smile.

Qiao Yu instantly understood why the name sounded so familiar and why the organizing committee arranged the seats in this way.

Obviously, this person is likely to be one of the winners of this year's Fields Medal, or other awards, just like him.

No wonder everyone around me looks so young.

"Yes, yes, yes, I remember now. Did you collaborate with Peter Schultz? I saw a paper you co-authored in the Annals of Mathematics! Potential Automorphy over CM Fields, that was co-authored by you, right?"

Jack Thorne nodded and was about to say something when the person sitting on the other side of Jack Thorne said, "Jack, you should introduce me too."

"Haha, yes, I almost forgot, Qiao Yu, this is Alex Wright, a professor at the University of Michigan, who mainly studies dynamical systems and Teichmüller theory."

"Wow, I see you again. Professor Wright, have you published a paper titled "Domain of Affine Invariant Submanifolds in Abelian Differential Moduli Spaces"? "

"Have you read this paper too?" Alex Wright was a little surprised.

"Yes! When I was involved in a research project and needed to understand some hyperbolic behaviors of dynamical systems, I read an article called "Boundaries of Linear Submanifolds" and your paper was cited in it. Then I went to read your paper. It's very interesting!"

Qiao Yu answered seriously.

Jack Thorne and Alex Wright looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

When everyone met for the first time, Qiao Yu was able to accurately quote both of their papers as soon as they mentioned their names. The key point was that their research directions were different.

Jack Thorne is easier to talk about. Qiao Yu had previously studied the geometric Langlands program, and the generalized modal axiom system he created also has the shadow of the Langlands program.

But they really didn't know that Qiao Yu actually also studied power systems, which is a very broad range of subjects.

This is why they didn't know that Qiao Yu was still a non-staff member of the Chinese lunar landing project. In order to deal with the complicated data, he happened to read some related papers recently...

Besides being surprised, the three of them quickly became familiar with each other.

After all, it is really gratifying that a mathematical rookie who solved the Riemann hypothesis has specifically read their papers, which shows that he recognizes their research.

By nine o'clock in the morning, the mathematicians attending the conference had taken their seats and the conference hall had become quiet.

The 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians has finally officially kicked off.

As per convention, the opening speeches were delivered by the chairman of the organizing committee of this year's conference, Pierre L. Lion, and the president of the International Mathematical Union, Kei Nakajima.

There is not much to say about this part. For mathematicians, a bunch of thanks can basically be skipped.

Fortunately, these two people were very clear about everyone's feelings and their speeches were not very long.

Soon, the most important ceremony of the opening ceremony, the award ceremony, began.

The first award was the Gauss Prize.

"First, I would like to announce the winner of this year's Gauss Prize..." Pierre L. Lion paused before continuing, "Professor Ingrid Dobeich from Duke University."

In recognition of her pioneering work in wavelet analysis, which has played a key role in applications such as image processing and signal processing, she is awarded the Gauss Prize!

As soon as the words fell, thunderous applause immediately rang out in the conference hall that could accommodate thousands of people...

Really, at this moment, Qiao Yu suddenly felt excited all over his body, and he couldn't help but look back.

This is a real big scene!
Looking at the heads of people behind me and the applause that almost blows the ceiling off, this atmosphere can really ignite the passion in people's hearts.

No wonder everyone wants to win the prize...

He would accept the opportunity to stand on the podium in such an occasion even if the money was a little less.

He originally wanted to complain about the Fields Medal's low prize money on stage, but now it seems a bit inappropriate, especially considering that the central media has also bought the broadcasting rights.

So in the lively atmosphere of the venue, Qiao Yu began to think seriously about his acceptance speech when he went on stage.

(End of this chapter)