A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 211 is unlikely.

The entire audience rose to their feet and cheered, and the hall erupted in applause. Such a significant achievement undoubtedly gave Chinese mathematicians a shot in the arm, filling them with pride and a strong sense of academic confidence.

Yuan Xinyi got up and walked towards the main stage.

But that's not all. Everyone knows that the Chern Prize in Mathematics is awarded to two people each year.

"Distinguished academicians and scholars, and friends who are here to witness the beauty of mathematics! At this moment, we are not only witnessing the pinnacle of personal glory, but also a solemn response from an era of mathematics to the physical world!"

As the sound rang out again, the lights in the venue brightened, and in the main stage background projection, in addition to Yuan Xinyi, another person appeared next to him.

Academician Xi Nanhua continued in a loud voice, "On behalf of the Chinese Mathematical Society, I hereby announce with the sincerest respect that the 21st Chen Xingshen Mathematics Prize is awarded to Professor Chen Hui of Jiangcheng University!"

"The mathematical spark that Professor Yang Zhenning planted in gauge field theory more than seventy years ago has finally been refined into a dazzling pearl by Professor Chen Hui!"

Professor Chen Hui has completed the existence proof of solutions to the Yang-Mills equations on four-dimensional compact manifolds using his revolutionary "canonical topology weaving technique"!
The core of this breakthrough lies in his pioneering "holographic gauge dual mirror," which maps the topological structure of a four-dimensional gauge field to the analytic boundary of two-dimensional conformal field theory, constructing a rigorous four-dimensional solution within the framework of two-dimensional solvability—equivalent to weaving the gauge field equations of spacetime with the warp and weft of a topological fabric!

As Academician Xi Nanhua spoke, the light and shadow behind the main stage changed accordingly. The holographic screen displayed a dynamic picture of the normative field in a four-dimensional manifold, and lasers outlined the topological network of the "normative topology weaving technique".

Professor Chen's original "gauge topology weaving technique" has made a breakthrough by introducing the weaving operator in topological quantum field theory, which transforms the topological defects of the gauge potential into computable topological invariants.

Even more astonishing is that his 'dimensionality reduction analysis' achieved through holographic dual mirrors not only circumvented the convergence dilemma of traditional functional analysis in four-dimensional manifolds, but also discovered hidden symmetries in gauge field equations in two-dimensional conformal field theory—this cross-dimensional mathematical grafting is arguably the most ingenious tool innovation in the history of modern mathematics!

On the main stage, a 3D projection displays the mirror mapping process from a four-dimensional manifold to a two-dimensional boundary, with the formulas flickering and recombining like qubits.

Everyone felt the wonder of this new tool. At that moment, the power of mathematics was visualized in graphics, forcefully entering everyone's minds.

"The epoch-making significance of this achievement lies in the fact that while the international academic community is still seeking a breakthrough between three-dimensional gauge field and two-dimensional conformal field theory, Professor Chen Hui has already built a holographic channel for gauge fields between four-dimensional and two-dimensional dimensions."

The review committee specifically pointed out that his "holographic gauge dual mirror" method redefines the computable boundary of gauge field theory, opening up a completely new paradigm for future research on instanton effects and gauge field quantization. As he stated in his groundbreaking paper: "The essence of gauge fields is not in dimensions, but in the weaving logic of topological fabric"—this declaration resonates across time and space with Professor Shiing-Shen Chern's statement that "mathematics is a topological poem of spacetime"!

Although there was no music playing, the atmosphere suddenly became exciting, and everyone in the venue felt as if drumbeats were resonating in their chests.

Academician Xi Nanhua paused for a moment before speaking again, like the calm before a storm.

"From Mr. Qiu Chengwu's proof of the Calabi conjecture thirty years ago to Professor Chen Hui's rewriting of gauge field theory today, Chinese mathematicians have always been exploring the essential connection between mathematics and physics."

Now, let us, guided by Professor Shiing-Shen Chern's dying wish to "make mathematics the language to describe the universe," welcome this mathematical alchemist who used topological networks to capture gauge fields!

A burst of applause erupted simultaneously with the laser beam, and a spotlight instantly appeared above Chen Hui's head, enveloping him in the center of the beam.

Chen Hui slowly stood up. He had expected this before he came, but when he actually heard his name from Academician Xi Nanhua, he couldn't help but feel excited.

Originally, he had given up the idea after his teacher Yuan Xinyi won the award. After all, only two people could win the Chen Xingshen Mathematics Award each year, and it seemed a bit biased to give it to a teacher and student from Jiangcheng University.

But to my surprise, the Chinese Mathematical Society was so bold as to award him the prize anyway.

Under the spotlight, Chen Hui walked all the way to the main stage, stood next to his teacher Yuan Xinyi, and looked at the dense crowd of enthusiastic clapping audience members below. Even now, he still feels a little smug.

"Congratulations!"

It wasn't until Academician Xi Nanhua came to Chen Hui with the certificate of honor, handing him his blessings along with the certificate, that Chen Hui recovered from that state.

Winning the award in his hometown was a completely different experience from winning it with the European Mathematical Society. The subtle difference was something Chen Hui himself found hard to explain.

"What you proved was not the existence of the equation, but the courage of Chinese mathematics to break through the dimensional constraints!"

"Keep up the good work, and don't be afraid of the 'isolation' of the solution. You have planted a strange tree of solvability in the four-dimensional wasteland, and its roots will eventually reach the core of the millennium puzzle!"

Academician Xi Nanhua smiled and looked at Chen Hui.

"Thank you!"

Chen Hui accepted the certificate and solemnly said, "I will."

He could feel the earnest expectation in the old man's smile.

However, now is not the right time to tell this old man that he has completed the proof of the mass gap. Perhaps, when the paper is published in the Annals of Mathematics, it will bring him an even greater surprise.

After the certificates were awarded, the presenters took photos with the winners.

Yuan Xinyi stood in the middle, with Xi Nanhua and Chen Hui standing on either side, each holding a certificate and facing the camera.

Click!

The flash went off, freezing the image.

Undoubtedly, this scene will be deeply imprinted in the minds of everyone present and will remain in the history of Chinese mathematics.

It is unprecedented in the history of Chinese mathematics that a teacher and a student have won the Chern Prize in the same year. Even on a global scale, it is rare for a teacher and a student to win a prestigious award in the same year.

"Do you think it's possible that we might see this teacher and student together at next year's International Congress of Mathematicians?"

One reporter suddenly excitedly discussed with his companion, "Professor Yuan winning the award is a foregone conclusion, and Professor Chen has solved the existence problem of the Yang-Mills equation, so he should also win the award, right?"

The professor next to him smiled and shook his head upon hearing this, "The possibility is slim."

Why isn't it big?

The reporter persisted, pressing for more details.

"Yang Mills' existence problem proof is indeed a huge achievement, but it is not a sure thing to win the Fields Medal. There will be a lot of competition next year. Not to mention his teacher Yuan Xinyi, whose complete proof of the Langlands program has already secured a medal."

Professor Wang Hong, who proved the three-dimensional hanging valley conjecture, undoubtedly deserves a medal as well.

The professor listed the frontrunners for the Philippine Prize with great familiarity, clearly indicating that he had been paying close attention to this information, otherwise he wouldn't have interrupted the reporter while he was speaking.

Hearing the discussion, the people around also pricked up their ears and gathered around. Seeing this, the professor became even more enthusiastic, "In this way, there will only be two medals left for this year's Philip Phelps Award. There are many other people who have made comparable or even more groundbreaking achievements."

For example, Sam Ruskin of Yale University established a profound connection between p-advanced Hodge theory and geometric representation theory, solved Kisin's problem on local constants in p-advanced local Langlands correspondences, and his work in collaboration with Jacob Lurie was named one of the top ten breakthroughs of the year by the Annals of Mathematics.

Then there's Jacob Zimmerman, who, using model theory and algebraic geometry, completely proved the case of the conjecture in all dimensions, solving a core problem in number geometry that had remained unsolved for 30 years.

Will Savin of Princeton established a profound connection between the distribution of prime numbers in arithmetic series and the geometric properties of high-dimensional manifolds, transforming the problem of short-interval prime numbers into spectral analysis of quantum chaotic systems, thus opening up an interdisciplinary research path.

"These people have achieved groundbreaking results comparable to Professor Chen's, but they have been working in the field of mathematics for decades, and their achievements are not limited to those listed. Taking all factors into consideration, I think Professor Chen's chances in this year's class are slim." Although the professor was pessimistic, he patiently explained.

Upon hearing this analysis, the expressions of those around him dimmed. It seemed that Professor Chen might truly be ineligible for this year's Fields Medal.

What upset them even more was that it wasn't because Professor Chen's achievements weren't groundbreaking enough, but because the number of medals was limited, and because Professor Chen was too young and lacked other academic foundations.

This is undoubtedly regrettable.

"Don't worry, with Professor Chen's abilities, winning the award is only a matter of time."

Instead, the professor comforted everyone.

"Is Professor Chen really out of hope for next year?"

A young reporter asked, her face full of disappointment, her big, watery eyes brimming with grievance, on the verge of tears.

He was truly pitiful to see. The professor sighed and shook his head. "Unless he can complete the proof of the mass gap in the next few months and completely complete the proof of Yang-Mills' theory."

"Of course, the chances are slim, because the next International Congress of Mathematicians will be held next March, and usually the judges will have already voted to select the final winners four months ago."

"In other words, Professor Chen has less than six months left. For such a significant achievement, the review process takes at least three to five months. Unless Professor Chen completes the proof now and submits the paper, his chances of winning the Philippine Prize this year are very slim."

"Moreover, Professor Chen's energy has not been focused on quality gaps lately. Perhaps this proof is too difficult and he has given up for the time being."

The professor had already read the academic report that Chen Hui submitted to the Chinese Mathematical Society. It was about his achievements in condensed matter physics, not a proof of the Yang-Mills equation.

Clearly, Chen Hui has changed his research direction.

"I really hope Professor Chen can make another effort."

The reporter who asked the question looked expectantly at the young man on the main stage taking photos with his certificate of honor. "If that's the case, then next year when the Fields Medal is awarded, three out of the four Fields Medal winners will be Chinese. I can't even imagine such a grand occasion."

Upon hearing this, those around were somewhat dazed; they had not yet realized that Chinese mathematics had quietly risen to such a level.

Chen Hui, who was on the main stage, was unaware of the tricks people were playing offstage. He had already walked offstage with his certificate of honor in hand.

After receiving the award, there is naturally a speech session, but since two people have won the award, it is not necessary for both to give a speech. This opportunity is naturally reserved for the teacher.

Yuan Xinyi was already used to this kind of scene, and his acceptance speech once again won enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Following the Chen Xingshen Mathematics Prize, the Zhong Jiaqing Mathematics Prize was awarded. This prize is mainly awarded to doctoral students in China who are currently enrolled or have recently graduated, with no more than four recipients per year.

Dr. Min Chen from McGill University, Dr. Bin Deng from the University of Toulouse III, Dr. Yiwen Lin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Dr. Weichao Qian from Jilin University were awarded the 18th Zhong Jiaqing Mathematics Award by the Chinese Mathematical Society.

The opening ceremony was finally drawing to a close. After another round of acceptance speeches, representatives from the sponsors of the three major mathematics society awards took the stage to give their remarks, and then it was the turn of the invited guests to give their opening presentations.

Chen Hui, who was well-prepared, took the stage and shared with everyone the model mentioned in his paper "Geometry of Number Theory". He had originally planned to present this paper when he attended the annual meeting of the European Mathematical Society last year, but unexpectedly, he made a new discovery and changed the topic.

Therefore, this paper, which was published a long time ago, has not actually been shared in public yet, which is one of the reasons why Chen Hui ultimately chose this as the title.

Especially now, with the model in this paper having proven its value, it's the perfect time to share it with everyone.

"I can't understand anything, what should I do? I feel so hopeless..."

Lin Yiwen, who had just received the Zhong Jiaqing Award, said in a despairing whisper.

"Isn't this model too idealistic?"

Deng Bin frowned slightly. Although he didn't fully understand, he roughly grasped Chen Hui's meaning: "Being able to publish in the 'Annals of Mathematics' means that there are no problems with the mathematical logic, but will it be useful in actual application?"

"Why isn't it working? Have you ever developed an application for it?"

Chen Min, who was standing to the side, glared at him angrily. Ordinary young girls have their own celebrity idols, and these female PhD students certainly have their own idols as well. Although Chen Hui is much younger than them, that does not prevent them from regarding him as an idol.

Because of the award ceremony, the four recipients of the Zhong Jiaqing Award sat together, just like Chen Hui and Yuan Xinyi were seated together.

Deng Bin wisely chose to keep quiet.

What they didn't know was that Chen Hui's model had not only been validated in application, but had also achieved unprecedented success.

Although there was no deliberate attempt to suppress the news, not many people know about it because the paper has not yet been published.

"Even if the model works fine in practice, he's wasting his energy on it. What about the quality gap problem?"

Deng Bin shut up, but Lin Yiwen, who was also a girl, shook her head. "In that case, there's probably no hope for the Fields Medal next year."

"That's not necessarily true. The problem of mass gaps has not been solved by the mathematical community for decades. If we continue to study it, we may never be able to solve it in our lifetime. Changing the direction now will actually give Professor Chen more opportunities to make results, which may not be a bad thing."

Qian Weichao, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

Not only them, but everyone else in the venue had similar thoughts. Some lamented that Chen Hui was wasting his talent, while others thought that Chen Hui was starting to do some fancy things without any practical concepts.

At this point, Chen Hui's report meeting was also nearing its end.

"Some time ago, I collaborated with Academician E Weinan and Professor Xiao Meng, and achieved unprecedented results in the research of new semiconductor materials. We discovered a new type of semiconductor material, gallium oxide, with a bandgap as high as..."

As Chen Hui spoke, the PowerPoint presentation displayed various performance parameters of gallium oxide.

The venue was quiet for a moment, then a loud hum, like waves crashing against the shore, rose and fell.

Although most of the people present were mathematicians, they might not realize the disruptive impact gallium oxide would have on the semiconductor industry, but they knew what kind of disruptive impact this model would have on the academic community if it could truly guide materials science experiments.

Deng Bin's mouth dropped open. Since Chen Hui had brought Academician E Weinan along, this couldn't possibly be fake.

"He is truly a genius!"

Lin Yiwen opened her mouth for a long time, but in the end she just sighed softly.

"I can hardly believe my eyes!" Qian Weichao muttered to himself.

Only Chen Min's eyes were already crinkled into stars, filled with joy, "I wonder when I can be as excellent as Professor Chen."

(End of this chapter)