Peking University, February 19, 2013: On February 13rd, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Rolf Schock Prizes 2014 of mathematics to Professor Zhang Yitang for his spectacular breakthrough concerning the possibility of an infinite number of twin primes, which made Zhang the first Chinese laureate of the prize.
Zhang Yitang is a Chinese-American mathematician working in the area of number theory. He studied at Peking University from 1978 to 1985 before pursuing his doctor degree in America. Unknown in the research field, Zhang stunned the whole mathematics world in 2013 by submitting an article establishing the first finite boundon gaps between prime numbers. This discovery, previously believed to be unattainable by current methods, received wide attention and lifted Zhang from obscurity to public fame overnight.
The Rolf Schock Prizes was set in 1993 and was announced every 3 years. The Rolf Schock Prizes 2014 amounted to a total of SEK 2.4 million with SEK 600 000 for each category. The award ceremony will be held in Stockholm on October 22nd, 2014.
Written by: He Lingqi
Edited by: Zhang Jiang
Source: School of Mathematical Sciences
